Romans 12:2 says, "Be not
conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing
of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Let me read some other
translations to you. The New Living says, "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." Did you hear that phrase? Let God transform you into a new
person. Do you need to be transformed
into a new person, or are you perfect just like you are right
now? I see some people look puzzled
about that. Let me help you. Yeah, you need to change. You have not arrived. In fact, you need to change a
lot. Look at your neighbor, help them
out and say, you need to change. A lot. Now what is your response to
that? Now, if you don't need to change
a lot that means as you sit here tonight you have already arrived
at Christlike perfection. And if that is not the case
then, you need to change. A lot. How are you going to be changed
into a different person? How? Now see, this is where a lot of
folks have gotten off track. They said, "I'm going to be
changed into a different person by people laying hands on me,"
or by praying and fasting, or by numbers of other things that are
good in their own right, but if that had been the main way to
change you into a different person, that's what He would've
said. Wouldn't He? He would have said you're going
to be transformed by praying. You're going to be transformed
by people laying hands on you. He could've said that. But He didn't say that because
that is not the main thing that's going to change you and I
into different people. What is going to change us? The renewing of our minds. Does something need to happen to
our minds after were born again? Now see, when you got born-again
the Scripture says that old things are passed away, behold
all things have become new. You are a new creation in Christ
Jesus. That's not talking obviously
about your body. Because if you had gray hair
before you were born again, you had gray hair the next day. Or no hair, or wrinkles, or a
long nose, or a short nose, blue eyes, brown eyes, right? You didn't get a new body,
that's not what became new. And if you acknowledge it, you
didn't get a new mind. It was your spirit that was
re-created. And upon being born again, then
we're told now you need to do something with your mind and you
need to control your body. I think this has been a source
of confusion because some have thought, and sometimes it was
because preachers left the wrong impression, that I'm just going
to go down to the altar and get saved and I'm never going to
have any problems again. I see a bunch of people shaking
their heads because you found out that this wasn't the case. He found out you had the same
flesh the next day. You could be tempted with some
of the same temptations. You remembered, you had the same
mind, the same memories. And that has not been clear
enough. The difference is now you are
not estranged and separated from God, you're not dead, you are
alive spiritually and now you do not have to be the servant of
sin. The Greater One is living inside
you and you have the power to control your mind, to control
your mouth, to control your desires, your feelings. You have the power in you as a
child of God to decide. That makes all the difference. Now you're no longer a victim. You're no longer a weakling. You're more than a conqueror in
Him. Now whether you act like it or
not it's another thing, but you are. There are no defeated ones born
into the kingdom of God. We're all born into the kingdom
of God, into His own likeness and image, just like Him, and
how many know the Master is not a defeated One? And we are in Him. And He's in us. His victory is our victory. And the same Spirit that He
walked in on the Earth, we now have. Exactly the same Holy Spirit. The Word conformed here, said
don't be conformed to this world, means to fashion like, to
conformed to the same pattern. And being transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that means to changing into another
form. And the key word here is change. We actually get our word from
the word used here transformed, we get our word morph or
metamorphosis from the Greek word here. And it basically means change. But it doesn't mean change
slightly, it means change into something else. Like a caterpillar changing into
a butterfly. And this is after you're
born-again. This is after you're born-again. Can you change into a completely
different person after you've been born again for five years? Ten years? I'm getting no's and yeses and
shrugs. Listen to the question. Who is he writing to in the Book
of Romans? Go back to the first chapter. Chapter 1:1. Romans 1:1. "Paul, a servant of Jesus
Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the Gospel of
God," verse two, "...which He had promised afore...," verse
three, "Concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord...," verse four,
"...declared to be the Son of God," keep going, you know where
we're headed. Verse seven, "To all that be in
Rome, beloved of God," what? Now to be is added by the
translator, "Called saints," now is he writing to sinners or to
Saints? Saved or lost people? He's writing to Christians. So, twelve chapters in, what did
he tell people that have already been born again? That they can be changed into
different people by the renewing of their minds. Thank God for the new birth, but
that's not the end of change in our life. Thanks be unto God. Go with me over to -- you're
there Romans twelve, go back to the eighth chapter while were
here. And then we'll go over to
Philippians four, I think. Romans 8:4 says, "That the
righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not
after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Now there's a lot of murkiness,
confusion, about being spiritual versus being fleshy. And when you talk about being in
the spirit or being spiritual, so many Christians just really
have a very vague notion of what that might be, or have concocted
some of their own ideas of what it is. But notice he's talking about
walking not after the flesh but after the spirit. Verse five, "For they that are
after the flesh do," what? "Mind the things of the flesh;
but they that are after the spirit," in other words they
mind, "the things of the spirit." What is involved in being fleshy
versus being spiritual? What you mind. Another way of saying that is
what you think on. And verse six, "For to be
carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life
and," he could've said a lot in other words. He could've said joy, he
could've said this, what did he say though? "Peace." Peace. And we're going to get some into
this tonight. Does it matter what you and I
think on? How much does it matter? According to this, it's life or
death, what we think on. Thinking on the wrong thing
ministers death to you. Is that true? Friend, I want you to know there
are dangerous thoughts, deadly, deadly thoughts. If people were enlightened and
aware to what was going on, when the very beginning of that
thought approached their mind, they would holler, they would
say I rebuke that, they would cast it down, because it is as
deadly as a rattlesnake in your chair, are you listening? As poison in your food. As a forty-five barrel against
your head. I know sounds like an
exaggeration, but did I read the Scripture just now? What did it say? Challenges, problems, hardships
-- it said death. Death. Death. There are deadly thoughts,
dangerous thoughts. They can come to you right in
the middle of a service like this. They can come to you at home
laying across your bed. They can come to you riding down
the road in your car. They can come to you at your
workplace or at school or wherever. You know, Brother Kenneth Hagin,
my father in the faith, said this numerous times. He said, "Even the most holy
child, saint, of God, has found in their mind thoughts that were
ugly. Thoughts that were repulsive and
perverted." Why? He went on to explain, he said
that the enemy can bring thoughts to you from the
outside. That doesn't mean you came up
with them. But he said it's like this --
you may not be able to prevent a bird from flying over your head,
but you can prevent it from building a nest in your hair. Right? And you may not prevent every
thought from coming to you and trying to broach your mind, but
you don't have to receive it and think on it the rest of the day. Do you? You do, I do, we do, have a
choice as to what we think on. And this is one of the greatest
truths we can get established in, is that I don't have to
think on anything I don't want to. This is a very important truth
to get a hold of. Because I don't know of the
people that I've talked to and they've cried and sobbed and
said, "I try not to think about it, I try not to, but I just
can't." That's a lie. It is a lie. No such thing as being unable to
stop thinking about something. I'm pausing for effect. "What you mean?" Because I could just sense some
people are going... I don't know about that. That's dangerous territory
you're on. As long as you're unsettled
about that, you are easy prey for the enemy to just have a
heyday in your mind and in your life. Because if you can't help what
you think on, you are helpless. You are a victim. And born again men and women of
God are not victims. We are victors, victors. We are hyper Nikes. Now if you weren't here last
week, then you're not on the know. In the know. Does it matter what we think
I'm? Help me out. Verse six, read it again. "To be carnally minded is death;
but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is
enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God,
neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the
flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh,"
he's writing to Saints. We've been born again. " If so be that the Spirit of
God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the
Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." He hasn't been born again. "And if Christ be in you, the
body is dead because of sin; but the spirit is life," or alive,
"because of righteousness." We are not dead, we are alive
inside spiritually. We are alive. Thanks be to God. Go to Philippians the fourth
chapter please, if you're holding that place. We're going to see this from
other places, more and more confirmed as we go through, but
I think you already know this. I believe this that we are
instructed in Scriptures that there are certain things we are
to think on, and there are other things we are not to think on. Should we obey these Scriptures
when we're told don't think on this? Do think on this. Now would He have told us don't
think on this, do think on this, if we can't control what we
think on? If we can't help, would He have
told us that? Or is He going to find out, I
know I wrote that but after looking at your case, you really
are a weak minded individual. You can't help it. You're an exception, I'm sorry. No! No child of God has to think on
things they shouldn't. Your mind is your mind, and you
can think on what you choose. And you can refuse to think on
what you shouldn't think on. Everybody say it out loud, "My
mind is my mind. I'm in in control in what I
think on. I never have to think on
anything I shouldn't think on. Nothing can force me to. My mind is my mind. I am in control, with God's
help, of what I think." Praise God. Do you believe that? Choose to believe it. It will safeguard you, it will
protect you. So many of the people that are
confined to mental institutions today, one of their biggest
issues if they came to believe they couldn't keep from thinking
on it. And if you believe that, you can
plunge off the deep end. Because it can get worse and
worse and worse, and people just quit resisting and they just
yield to these thoughts and feelings. And if you do, you can
absolutely lose yourself. But they began to go awry way
back here; sometimes years ago. They could have easily chosen
not to think on that and all the hellish stuff that they've been
through would never have happened. Isn't it good to know that God
didn't give you a spirit of fear, but He gave you a spirit
of power and of love and of sound mind. Sound mind. He actually gave you the very
mind of the Christ. The Anointed One. And His very peace -- He said,
"My peace I give unto you." Didn't He say it? Say it out loud, "I've got His
mind," I want you to say something by faith now. I want you to stay it with every
fiber of your being. This is affecting your future
right here tonight. Say it out loud, "I by the grace
of God will never lose my mind. I will never go crazy. I will never go insane. I will never, my whole life
long, lose my mind." Never. I will always have a sound mind. Sound mind. That's what the Lord gave me, a
sound mind, He's never going to take it back, I'm never going to
turn loose of it. People windup in terrible shape
because they turn loose of it. Because they think on things
they should not and then they get to the point where they
become obsessed with that thinking. And they think about it night
and day, night and day. And friend, that's dangerous. That's dangerous. That is how you lose your mind. Let me say it again. Some thoughts are deadly. Some thoughts are absolutely
dangerous. They're poisonous. They're deadly. We need to know enough that when
it comes across our mind, we don't play with it for a moment. We grab it, we throw it down. Sometimes you need to say it out
loud, no, no, no! I'm not thinking that much less
doing it. No. No. That's not right. I'm not thinking on it. I'm not talking about it. And I am never going to do it. And if you'll do that every time
that comes up, you'll always be safe. You always will. But if you sit there and you
think about it for half the day and then you start talking about
it, and it becomes an obsession of yours, and you just talk
about all the time, you're in trouble. You're going down a path of
darkness and it only gets darker and worse. Instead of that, you could be
being transformed. Just like that path leads to
darkness, what if you thought what the Lord told you to think,
and you thought it every morning and every afternoon, and every
night when you laid your head on the pillow, and you thought it
and talked about it, and you meditate in His Word night and
day, and it's in your mouth all the time, then you would be
changing, only not bad. You would be changing and
becoming more and more like Him. You get to where you think like
Him. And you talk like Him. And you act like Him. And you literally have His mind. Glory to God. Remember the apostles and
disciples that spent so much time with Him, and even after He
was gone to sit at the right hand of Majesty on high, and
they saw the things that were going on in the apostles
ministry and they took note of them that they had been with
Jesus. Why? Because they were talking just
like Him. And acting just like Him, and
doing the same things He was doing. Is that our call? It is. But it won't happen just by
saying I'm a Believer, hallelujah. And going to church once in a
great while and not paying attention. How will we be transformed? Our minds have to change. Our thinking has got to change. Because the truth is, there's
entirely too much ungodly, worldly thinking in most
Christian's minds. We must not assume that the bulk
of our thinking that we got as a child or a teenager is godly. Just because we thought like
that all our life, or because our parents or grandparents
thought like that, doesn't mean its godly. And because a lot of other
people think that way, doesn't mean it's right. I know when we first went to
Rhema Bible Training Center and we were just there for just a
few weeks and in a time of prayer the Lord spoke to my
heart and said -- I don't mean I heard a voice now, you know He
speaks to you the way you understand. If He spoke to me in Hebrew I
wouldn't understand a word of it. So He speaks to me in southern
drawl. And I get it. How many believe the Lord speaks
Missourian, Arkansas, Texan, New England, He speaks at all. French. And He spoke to my heart and
said, "Keith, I want you to examine everything you believe." We were being immersed in
teaching and preaching there in the Bible school, which was
wonderful. And He said, "Keith, I'm
instructing you, examine everything you believe and find
it in the written Word. Find it." I understood that was a
directive, and so I began to do it. Every time I'd think about
something I believed, I wouldn't just say okay that's good
enough, I went to the Book. And I got my concordance out. And I began to look for
Scriptures that say that. And sometimes I'd find them
pretty quickly and go praise God, yeah, there it is. But a number of times I couldn't
find it. I looked and I looked and I
looked high and low, and I searched the concordances, and I
couldn't find one thing that said that. And the Lord had instructed me,
"If you can't find it in My Word, you have no right to have
that as a doctrine, as something you believe." And He helped me to see on some
of those things after looking for them for months, because
some of them were pretty foundational to me and my family
and where I came from, and I finally realized, that's not in
the Bible. In fact, I found some Scriptures
that contradicted it. But I realized I heard somebody
say that. I heard a preacher say that when
I was a boy. Grandpa said that, momma said
that, or a cousin said that, or whatever. And sometimes you hear something
several times, especially if you hear it in church with
hallelujah and amen on one end of it, that people tend to think
that's holy, that's the Word. And it is so far from the Word. Not the Word. And so can you see what the Lord
was doing with me? What was He doing with me? Help me out. He was renewing my mind. He knew much better than I did
-- I had a lot of stuff I needed to get out that I thought was
right, I thought was Bible, I thought was God. And He knew it wasn't. And I'm not saying I've arrived
there yet, but should you be willing, should every Believer
be willing to examine critically and seriously everything that
they believe, and discipline them self to find it in the Word
of God. In Philippians four, notice
this. Philippians 4:4. What did He say? You know this is how the service
started out. There may be a time that you
mourn, you ought not mourn like the world, like those who have
no hope. But mourning should not be the
norm. That should just be brief things
here and there, but most of the time you ought to be bouncing
with a big old smile. And if you're not, things are
not right. Either you're not born-again, or
you're not walking as a child of God. The Bible said, "Awake thou that
sleepeth and Christ will give you light." What will light do for you? Light will brighten you up. All this depression, absolutely
unnecessary. And ungodly. "There's just so many problems
in the world Brother Keith, and it just burdens me down." That's religion. Ungodly religion. I'm pausing again for effect. Do you think you're the Savior? Do you think not enough has been
done for their salvation? Do you think your sorrowing, and
being a sad sack, and raining down on everybody's parade is
going to put them closer to Jesus? No. The truth is the price has
already been paid. Totally. Jesus has already done
everything that needs to be done for everybody to be saved, and
yes, we ought to tell everybody we can and do everything we can
to get that Word out. But it's not going to cause them
to want to come in if we're depressed all the time. There are a lot of folks who are
not Christian because they have relatives who are. And they think, "Hey, if being a
Christian is being like uncle Joe or Aunt Mildred or my
sister, then forget it." Why? Because they're always down, and
they're always judgmental, and they're always finding fault,
and always pointing their bony fingers, and self-righteous, and
all this other stuff. And that never was God. I'm looking at faces. Do you know what salvation is? Salvation is everlasting life. Salvation is being washed from
all your sins and being clean, with no guilt, and no shame and
no condemnation. Salvation is having the peace
that passes understanding. Having your body healed. Having your needs met and your
bills paid. Come on. Salvation is having the very
wisdom of God coming up to your mind all the time, and a
quickening and a grace and life that makes you more than enough
for every situation. And a glorious hope that in just
a few more clicks, we're out of here going to glory. Now that's not sad sack and
grouchy and woe is you. Those are not the same things. Philippians four, are you still
there? Let's look on the fourth verse. What does it say? Read out loud. "Rejoice," you're supposed to
say it loud. Rejoice! Come on, that was about 20% of
the crowd. Help me out. Rejoice! Rejoice, rejoice, rejoice, "In
the Lord," every Sunday? No, "Alway: and again," I'm
telling you, "Rejoice!" Rejoice! Verse five, "Let your moderation
be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand." I have heard the Scripture used
for everything under the sun except what it said. We're talking about some of this
during offering. I've heard people say, "The
Bible says be moderate in all things." That's not what it said. No. "That means not too big, not too
little, not too nice, not too junky. Moderate. Moderation in all things." That Scripture does not say
that. The King James word moderation,
you kind of have to look up. Anybody have another
translation? Let me read some of them to you. I won't go through all the
translations, but several translations say forbearance. Now that's a different meaning
than moderation to us. How many know language changes
over the years? Forbearance. Another one says considerate,
gentle, kind spirit. Now that's a totally different
idea than don't get too nice now. Graciousness. I like the Wuest along this
line. It says, "Let your sweet
reasonableness be known to all men." That means you should be so nice
and so easy to get along with. What a different meaning. Look it up for yourself and see. How many know you shouldn't try
to build doctrines on one verse or one word in one verse. The Bible said in two or three
witnesses let every Word be established. What's the word I'm looking for? The enemy is always trying to
get you to settle for -- yeah, mediocrity. That's a good work. And people try to use that verse
to substantiate and say, "Yeah, don't get carried away. Don't get too nice. Don't get too big." Is there such a thing as the
body of Christ getting too big and the Earth? The work of God getting too big
or reaching too big? Is there such a thing as being
too healed? Or too blessed? Or too excited about God? Or too much Joy? Too much life? "Now calm it down brother,
moderation." No, no, no! I could show you a number of
scriptures that talk about how excessive God is. He is the God Who will
absolutely run your cup over and spill it on the floor. And a lot of these preachers and
these theologians believe the idea that God will kind of cover
the bottom and go we don't want to do too much, too much. God will pour out until it's
running on the table, running down the floor, running out the
door. And you'll go God, it's running
everywhere, and He goes yeah, isn't it great? Isn't it great? That is who He is. Do you understand how many fish
there are in the sea? More fish than we will ever eat. Do you know how many bananas
fall off of the trees in the jungle and rot that the monkeys
will never eat? God is a God of abundance. Not just enough, super
abundance. Way more. Do you know how many stars there
are out there? No, you don't. Because there are so many. Moderation in all things. Verse six, "Be careful," that
means distracted and anxious, "for nothing..." Why would you be full of care
and distracted? See He's beginning to get into
this in detail. What would make you that way? Thinking on wrong thoughts. There are thoughts, you can be
happy and doing good, and there are thoughts that can come to
you that if you'll receive them, you'll lose your joy just like
that. You'll get upset, your heart
rate will come up, and your blood pressure will begin to
come up. Just because that thought came
to you of what may have happened, or what might've
happened, or what could happen, or some terrible thing. Another some other things, you
can be going along not particularly happy or sad is
anything, but a thought can cross your mind and just make
your day. Just the thought of it coming to
you brightens your face, makes you glad, makes you happy, makes
you look forward to the rest of the day, because you had a
thought. He said don't be careful or full
of care, anxious for nothing, "But in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known
unto God." That doesn't always take all day
to pray. So what do you do after you pray
the rest of the day? Well, a lot of you are sure the
right track. Verse seven, "And the peace of
God, which passes all understanding shall," do what? "Keep your hearts and minds..." Now I'm going to get ahead of
myself just a little bit but how would you know whether you're
thinking on the right thing or the wrong thing? One of the biggest indicators is
peace. The Scripture said, "There is no
peace to the wicked." Wicked means evil, bad, wrong. And there can't be any peace in
a wrong thought. But God's right thoughts are
going to minister peace to you. So one of the ways you can know
and be sure that you're thinking about the right thing is you got
peace. If you have no peace, you've
lost your peace, it's obvious you're thinking about the wrong
thing and you need to stop it immediately. Hold your place here and we'll
look in Isaiah, they'll put up on the screen for us, but Isaiah
26:3. Hold your place in Philippians. This is a very great Scripture
like they all are. If you don't have this one
marked, if you don't know it, let me encourage you to meditate
on this one some. He said, "Thou will keep him in
perfect peace, whose," what? Whose, "Mind is stayed on Thee:
because he trusts in Thee." So what are you thinking about? You're thinking about what He
said and how right it is, and what He told you to do and how
right that is, and how faithful He is and how much you trust
Him, and if you think about that all the time, you will have --
actually the Hebrew here is literally peace, peace. A reiteration -- you won't just
have some peace, you'll have peace, peace. You will be mellow and happy and
resting. Content. What if you're all agitated,
upset, angry, mad, hurt, upset? Then you need to repent. Or I need to repent, whichever
one of us it is. Why? Because you wouldn't be that way
thinking on the right thing. Would you? Friends, don't let this be too
simple for you tonight. If you receive this and
establish it in your heart and live by it, it will protect you,
oh, it will protect you from the wiles of the devil. All you have to realize - you'll
be going along and you'll realize that you're anxious and
annoyed about something and you get a hold of yourself
immediately and go quit, quit it, what you thinking about? You don't need a special work,
you don't need an hour of counseling, you know for you to
be in that condition, you've been thinking on the wrong
thing. You know it. Because if you had been keeping
your mind stayed on Him, how many know the Lord is not a
liar? If you said if you do that I
will keep you in peace, peace, then He will. And if you're not in peace,
peace, it's not because He forgot you and didn't do it. It's because you're not keeping
your mind stayed on Him. Right? You're thinking about how bad
it is, you're thinking about what they said, what they did,
and what they didn't do, and what they ought to do, and how
bad you messed up, and how bad the economy is, and what they
said how many they're going to lay off, what this problem is,
and that problem, you're thinking about stuff you should
not be thinking about. And if you cry and say, "Well, I
tried to but it's just so...." No, quit being such a whiny baby
and believe the Bible. And if the Lord told you don't
think about that, what are you going to do? Are you going to get in His face
and cry and act pitiful and go, "I know You told me to Lord but
I just can't. I just can't." You think He's going to change
His eternal Word for you? Pat you on the head and go, I
know, I know I said that but just forget it. Because you're so pitiful. No. Being pitiful doesn't move the
Lord towards you. Faith, faith causes Him to
respond to you. Without faith it is impossible
to please Him. Listen to some other
translations of this. The Young's Literal translation,
that's the man who wrote the concordance. Certainly he knows something
about this. He said, "An imagination
supported You fortify peace - peace! For in You it is confident." That's literal. That's where all these other
translations get theirs from is this guy. This is a transliteration. You have to watch about some of
these new translations; they're actually not translations
they're paraphrases. And a lot of the phrases in them
you shouldn't trust them because if somebody's idea, it's not
exactly what the Word said. But in verse four in the Young's
Literal it says, "Trust ye in Jehovah forever, For in Jah
Jehovah [is] a rock of ages..." And today is the first time I
had really seen -- I think I caught a glimpse of it in times
past but maybe I let it slip from me or something. Listen to this and you'll see
what I'm talking about. Let me not move to quick, we'll
get there eventually. The Amplified says, "You will
guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose
mind [both its inclination and its character]," see, not only
have we thought about what He told us to, but our inclination
is to think about Him. I mean, were ready to think
about Him before we think about Him. We're just ready to think about
Him. And we're ready to be happy
about whatever He's going to say. Because we know it's good before
hear it. And whatever He tells us to do,
we're inclined to hear it and ready to hear it. Actually numerous Scriptures
talk about a ready mind. That readiness is a mindset. Have you ever come across folks
that did not have a ready mind? It took an hour of talking to
them before they ever decided they wanted to hear something? Obstinate mind. That's not what you want. "You will guard him and keep him
in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination
and its character]," is stayed on You, because he commits
himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You." Verse four, "So trust in the
Lord (commit yourself to Him, lean on Him, hope confidently in
Him) forever; for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock [the Rock
of Ages]." This is the connection that I
was talking about. The New Living translation in
verse three says, "You will keep in perfect peace all those who
trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!" And finally the God's Word
translation. Their thoughts are fixed on you. Can you fix your thoughts on
God? Can you fix your thoughts on a
problem? Can you fix your thoughts on the
symptom? Can you fix your thoughts on
something ugly somebody did to you or said to you? And can that ruin your day? Can you be bopping along happy,
everything going good, and then hear about something ugly that
somebody said or did towards you and can you lose your joy? And lose your peace? And get mad? And get upset? And whose fault is that? Yours. "Yeah, but they did..." They did not make you lose your
joy. They don't have the power to
forcibly rip your peace away from you. "Yeah, but they did..." Yeah, but that's not what's
stole your peace. I don't care what they did,
that's not what's stole your joy and peace. You're incorrect response to
what they said and did was why you lost your joy and your
peace. Because you could've kept it,
you could've heard what they said, heard what they did, it
rubbed you the wrong way, you didn't like it, but before it
ever started taking you down you grabbed a hold of that thought
and said no, you don't. No you don't. No you don't. I've got too much to be happy
and thankful about. I'm not going to let this get me
down. And you throw it down, that's
what the Bible said, cast it down. Cast it down and set your mind
on Him. And if you'll do that, He will
keep you -- how many like the sound of that? God said He would keep you in
peace, peace. But now is that all up to Him? Tell me what your part is. What is your part? You got to keep your mind stayed
on Him. And I'm not going to stand here
and tell you that that's the easiest thing you ever did. I was ministering to a lady, oh
this is been a number of years ago, and she had been in out of
mental institutions for years. And just had been through some
terrible, terrible stuff. And I was endeavoring to help
her, minister to her. She had come for help and wanted
prayer. I felt prompted to the Lord to
take her to Joshua one, you could put up on the screen,
Joshua 1:8. Anybody know what it says? "This Book of the law shall not
depart out of your mouth; but you shall meditate therein day
and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is
written therein: for then you shall make your way prosperous,
and then you shall have good success." What's the key to everything
going your way, going good, having good success? The Book of the law shall not
depart out of your mouth - that's all they had back then
was the law. Now we have the law and the
prophets, we got New Testament, we have the whole Word of God. But that's not supposed to stop
coming out of your mouth and you're supposed to meditate in
it day and night. And I began to her some about
meditating in it day and night, and she just interrupted me and
said, "You can't do that." She just said what a lot of
other people thought. "You can't think about the
things of God day and night." And I said well, you reckon He
didn't know that? What did He say? What did He tell you to do? Meditate in it day and night. Did He or did He not know what
we could do and couldn't do? And while I was trying to be
kind and share with her - because she's kind of wanting
to get aggravated about it, the Lord helped me to see
something. I said sister, no listen, don't
get upset. Listen. It's not a matter of whether or
not you can meditate on something day and night. You already are. You're already thinking on
something day and night. He's just telling you think on
what I told you day and night. I said you're already thinking
on something and meditating on something day and night, and
it's obviously been the wrong thing, because it's put you in
the institution. And what He's saying is quit
thinking that and think on what I told you. And Roman says it will be life
to you and peace to you. Somebody say glory to God. Now back to Isaiah 26:3. This is what I was endeavoring
to get to a moment ago. Isaiah 26:3 in the God's Word
translation. I saw this clearer than I ever
have seen it before today. He said, "With perfect peace,"
come on close your eyes and think about that Word. Does that sound good? We're not just talking about a
little touch of peace, perfect peace. You know, the word "perfect"
again and again means "complete." Full. He's talking about complete
peace. Full peace. "You will protect those whose
minds cannot be changed," whose minds cannot be changed,
"because they trust in You." How does that translate in the
Hebrew that says mind stayed? It does. It brings out another aspect of
it. If your mind is stayed, then
it's not changed. "Those whose minds cannot be
changed because I trust in You. Verse four, "Trust the Lord
always, because the Lord, the Lord alone, is an everlasting
Rock." And the BBE of verse four -- do
we have that one? "Let your hope be in the Lord
forever: for the Lord Jah is an unchanging Rock." Come on, do you see the
connection? If you're standing on the
unchanging rock, your mind shouldn't change. He doesn't change, so you
shouldn't change. What He said doesn't change, so
your mind shouldn't change. Redemptive reality isn't going
to change, so you're thinking shouldn't change. And there will be tests and
trials and thoughts and feelings aplenty to try to get you to
change your mind, but you're to make up your mind that no, it is
written by His stripes I was healed, and that's what it read
100 years ago, that's what it will read 100 years from now. And so that's what I will think
about. It is written with long life
He'll satisfy me and show me His salvation. Now you can think about that and
get happy, or you can think about how you feel. And you could think about a bad
report. And you can think about what
happened to this one, or what didn't happen to that one. And how could you tell that
you're thinking on the wrong thing? By what it's doing to you. It's not difficult. This is so important. How can you tell that you are
thinking on the wrong thing? Help me out. No peace among other things. What is it doing to you? Look at the effect. If you're just gritting your
teeth, if you're crying your eyes out, if you feel terrible,
whose fault is it? Yours. Now this is not popular
everywhere, this message. Because a whole lot of people
prefer what I called no-fault religion. That means I want to go
somewhere where there preachers will tell them no matter what
happens, it's not your fault. And no matter what doesn't
happen, it's not your fault. The main thing to know, life is
going to be terrible, it's going to be hard, but the main thing
to know is it's not your fault. You're laughing, but that is a
central message in churches all over the world. The problem with it, you stay
defeated, you don't get your prayers answered, you don't get
what you need. I like this. I said, I like this. Thou will keep him, keep him,
keep him, I like being kept, keep him in perfect, total,
full, complete peace. Peace, peace. Why? Because his mind is stayed --
somebody say, "Stayed." Stayed and won't change off of
Him. Because what is he thinking
about? He trusts in Me. In order to be victorious, in
order to grow up, in order to get free from the yo-yo up,
down, emotional upheaval so many people live their whole life
and, in order to get out of that and rise above that, you've got
to become disciplined in your mind. You've got to get a hold of
yourself about what you let yourself think. And what you won't allow
yourself to think. So many times when it comes to
loved ones leaving, dying and going home to be with the Lord,
the Lord showed me this back years ago with my granddad and
grandma and my father and different ones. I know one day I was feeling a
little bit down, one of my loved ones had just gone home to be
with the Lord. And the Lord arrested me because
He knew I knew what I'm telling you. And He said, "Keith, you know
better." I thought yeah, I do, but I'm
not figuring it out quite this minute. And he helped me -- I don't mean
I heard a voice but He said, "Keith, there was no future in
that path, in that path of thinking. There is nothing but pain in it. So why go down that path? Why let your mind go down that
path? If you do, you think about this,
and it could've been this, and could've had, that I wanted to
do this, wanted to do that, won't be would do this -- you
keep thinking about that, your emotions will get stronger and
stronger, and the heaviness will get stronger. You'll cry, you'll feel bad, and
when you get through, what will you have benefited? What will it have helped you? Where will you be? They will still be with Me and
you're still not going to see them again until you come to be
with Me or I come get you. What is it going to change? What is it going to help? There is no merit in going down
that road. No benefit at all. Only darkness and pain to let
yourself think about that." Do you know what I mean by a
path? You start thinking on something,
you don't just stay there, other thoughts come. Right? And it takes you down a path, a
vein of thought, if you will. And the Lord was telling me,
"Keith, there's nothing but pain in that vein of thought." Now if you know that, why go
down it? And what you should do, and the
Lord helped me that particular day, get a hold of yourself and
say quit that, boy. You know better than that. Don't think on that. He began to ask me, "Are you
thankful?" No sir, I don't want to be
unthankful. "Do you know how much time you
had with them? All the things you got to do
with them? Do you know how many people
don't even know their granddad, or they didn't even know their
father, or if they did, they almost wished they didn't know
them; they didn't have a good one. And the rich times you had - do
you know how many hours you enjoyed with them?" I didn't. I took out a calculator. It was a huge number. He said, "Are you unthankful?" I said no Sir, I'm not. He said, "Besides that, boy,"
like I said He talks to you the way you understand. And I needed a boy right then. He said, "Besides that boy, your
daddy," your grandpa, whoever it was that He was talking about,
"they're not just in your past, they're in your future." Now, let's just stop right here. When that thought came to me, it
just picked me up. Just like that just picked me
right up. I thought that's right. What am I doing? Why sit here and mope and sorrow
like those who have no hope? I have hope. A certain, sure hope. I know the truth. And this is the truth. They're not just in my past,
they're not gone forever, we didn't lose them forever. They're not lost, they're saved,
we know where they are. And they're not just in our
past, they're in our future. And that is a good thought and
that thought ministers life to you and it ministers peace. Can you see that? It ministers peace and life and
strength to you. So go down that vein of thought. When the other comes to you,
slam the door. Go no, I'm not going down that
road, I'm not going to do it. You have to be disciplined. Because these feelings are real,
and they can be powerful. And these thoughts are real and
they can be powerful. And you could be very tempted to
lay down in the bed and cry your little eyes and wallow in it. But friend, there's nothing but
pain in it. Nothing but pain. And you can try to blame
everybody for it, but it's your fault. Because you didn't have to do
it. You could have dried your eyes,
you could've stood up, you could've been strong, you
could've started thinking about something else. Your could've got your mind off
yourself and start trying to help somebody else. Some of the best therapy in the
world, it just doesn't get any better than that. And would not have had to endure
all those long, lonely times and sorrow and hurt and pain. Sorrow of mind is in Deuteronomy
28 and is part of the curse of the law. Anybody know what the Good News
of that is? According to Galatians 3:13,
we've been redeemed from the curse of the law. That means we don't have to have
it, we don't have to go through it. Somebody say glory to God. Philippians four, are you there? I think maybe if we camp on this
a bit we can close. Say it out loud, "He will keep
me in perfect peace if I keep my mind stayed on Him." Thank You Lord. Can you do it? Is it possible for you to do
that? Yes, it is. It's your choice. It's my choice. Philippians 4:5, we had read
this. "Be careful," distracted,
anxious, "for nothing; but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known
to God. And the peace of God, which
passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren," does all
this go together? He gives you a list. I'm a pilot so we're big on
checklists. And you need to be. Because they're so many things,
you try to just remember everything, you could miss
something. And so when the Lord gives you a
list, should you go by the list? So I encourage you, make you a
checklist for your mind. The Lord has given us a
checklist for the mind. We get up in the morning, we
start about our day and here comes this thought. Now we should have learned at
least enough by now to know that we should not throw both doors
open and just let any thought come and move in. We should ask some questions. Where did this thought come
from? Is this a God approved thought? Has this thought passed the
rigorous testing of the Most High? Is it a Word thought? Is it a God thought? Is it a faith thought? And to help us along with this,
the Lord has given us the checklist. Can you see He started out by
saying rejoice, rejoice! That gets you on the right
channel. Quit feeling sorry for yourself,
quit being down because God's thoughts are life, not death. So this already gets you down
the right vein, and then He says don't be full of care, don't
fret, don't worry, don't be anxious about anything, don't
worry about it, don't fret about it, pray about it. And ask the Lord what you need
to ask Him and pray about it. And then when you do, and you
give thanks, the peace of God will come in. The peace of God, whoa, that
passes understanding is going to keep your heart and mind and now
when He says finally, He's telling you how to hold on to
the peace. How to keep the peace that you
got when you quit worrying, and you prayed and believed God, and
His peace came into you, now you need to keep that peace the rest
of the day and the rest of the night. This is another way of saying,
"Thy will keep Him in perfect peace whose mind
is stayed on Thee." Here He gives us New Testament
detail of how to keep our mind stayed. "Finally brethren, whatsoever
things are true," everybody say, "True." "Whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just," just means fair and right,
"whatsoever things are pure," pure means clean, "whatsoever
things are lovely," lovely. Come on, can you picture
yourself closing your eyes and going, "Now that's a lovely
thought." "Lovely" means "pleasing,
agreeable, one translation is friendly." A friendly thought. "Whatsoever things are of good
report," somebody say, "Good report." "If there be any virtue," now
that word means excellence, excellence. "And if there be any praise,"
that means it's worth praising, it's commendable and
praiseworthy, what did He say? What did He say? Think on anything you want to? Think on whatever comes across
your mind? No. "Think on these things." These things. Say it out loud, "Think on these
things." If the New Testament tells us
think on these things, should we at least have an idea what
things He told us to think on? Let's go through our checklist. What things should we think on? Go back up to the top. What's opposite of true? Is it okay to think on false
things? No. Not on the checklist. Not God approved. False, deception is not God
approved thoughts. So you can't think them. What else? Help me out. Honest. Does a dishonest thought ever
come across your mind? Oh, yeah. "I just don't know if they can
handle the truth. I think I love them too much to
tell them the truth." Oh. The Lord never told you you had
any other option. And as sure as you do, you think
"Maybe if we won't tell them that, we'll tell them this." What are you doing? You have opened yourself up for
the father of lies to come show you how to lie to them. Is that going to help you feel
good? Is that going to give you any
peace? You're going to get nervous,
you're going to get jumpy, and then if you tell one it's going
to take three more to cover it up and brace it up. And now you're wondering when
that was going to come out, and if anybody's going to find that,
and you've lost your peace, and you become suspicious of
everybody - do they are ready know? You have no peace, you have no
joy. Why? Because you didn't do the
checklist. When that dishonest thought came
up, you should not have entertained it for 30 seconds. It's not on the checklist. Has to be honest or I can't
think it. "You think you're too good to
think that?" The Lord obviously thinks I am. And you are because He told us. We've all made mistakes in the
past but is it possible for us to get a hold of this and get
changes in our life and be transformed? You think if you never let
yourself think on a lie, you never let yourself think on a
dishonest thing, would that make you a different person? Would that change the way you
think? Yes, it would change you. Keep reading. "Whatever things are just," now
that means fair. What if you went around half the
day going, "That's just not fair? That ain't right." You're supposed to go around
thinking about it ain't right? It's not on the checklist. You're told not to think on
that. You're told to think on what is
right, fair, just. "That just ain't right." People will pray half the night,
"God, that ain't right. God, that ain't right." Like He didn't know. "God, that ain't right. Oh God, You know it ain't right. You know, oh God, You know." Listen to yourself. Does He know? Why do you have to tell Him
another three hours? "Oh God, You know." Yeah, He also knows He told you
not to think on that. Which is why people pray and
pray and fast and fast and can't seem to get the victory. You can't ignore the Word and
get results. What else can you think on? Pure. Pure means clean. If it's not clean, what do we
do? Hold your place here and go to 2
Corinthians the tenth chapter. Second Corinthians 10:3. "For though we walk in the
flesh," we're in this body, we're in the world, "we do not
war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not
carnal," let me just stop right there. Warring in the flesh. You can yell, you can scream,
you can cry, you can screech, but if you don't quit thinking
on it, you're going to continue to be tormented. "Oh God, please make me quit
thinking on it." No, that's not okay. He didn't tell you to get Him to
make you quit it. Say it again, "My mind is my
mind. I am in control of what I think. I don't have to think anything I
don't want to think. I choose to think and what I
will. My mind is my mind. I'm in control." Don't believe anything else. "I just want to give my mind to
the Lord and let Him take it over." No, I'm sorry but no. He told you to do something with
your mind. You can't just give it to Him. Remember we just got through
reading Philippians where He said think on these things. Not don't think, Lord think for
me, He told you to think. It's a whole message within
itself. Think. "I don't want to think, I'm just
tired of thinking." Well, be tormented. Say it again, "My mind is my
mind. It's my mind. I can think what I choose to
think. I never have to think on any
wrong thought. My mind is my mind." Hallelujah. It's my mind. Verse four, "For the weapons of
our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the
pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations,"
that's the word "bolo," it mean "throw it, throw it like a
ball." Throw it. What you throwing? A thought. Can you grab a thought and throw
it? Obviously you can. "Casting down imaginations and
every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of
God," everything that is contrary to that checklist. "And bringing into captivity,"
what? "Every thought..." You need to be a thought
catcher. You need to be ready with your
hat on, and your gun and your net. You are a thought catcher. You'll catch them dudes before
they get one foot through the door good. Right? I taught on this some years ago
and a brother came to me after the service and said, "I got it
brother Keith. Every mind needs a bouncer at
the door." He must've spent a lot of time
in clubs but that is the truth. Every mind needs a bouncer at
the door. Because thoughts will come to
you and they'll knock on the door and they'll go let me in. And if you're foolish you'll
just leave the door open and just let anything come in, think
whatever thought crosses your mind, just yield to any feeling
and imagination and you fantasize about this and you let
your mind wander all over here. And then wonder why you're so
unhappy. Why your life is such a mess. It's because you're loose with
your mind. Like a loose woman. You know you're not supposed to
just jump in bed with everybody that you see. Do you know you're not just
supposed to embrace every thought and let every thought
that would come by penetrate your mind and come into you. You need to look through the
peephole at the door and go who are you? This is a very selective club. Very elite. Not just anybody can get in
here. Who are you? Where did you come from? Who are you? And then you need to hold up a
checklist, right? Hold up a checklist and go I'm
sorry, you're not on the list. You're not on the list. So no, you can't come in. And if they come back and knock
on the door to try to get in your mind another forty-five
times today, what do you do? They're still not on the list,
they're not going to be on the list, so they don't get in. You don't think about it. What does it say? "Casting down imaginations, and
every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of
God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience
of Christ..." Said out loud, "Casting
down imaginations. Bringing into captivity every
thought, every thought, every thought to the obedience of
Christ." If it is not a Christ approved,
Word approved, in agreement with redemption, faith, joy, life,
come on go back to your list. Go back your list. If it's not in agreement with
it, if it's not one of those kind of thoughts, it doesn't get
in your mind. And friend, if we would do this,
if we would actually do this, we would never have another down
day. I didn't say you'd never have
any tests or trials or temptations, but you would never
choose to yield to it and get depressed. The Lord would always, no matter
what happened, He would always give you life and joy and peace
and victory. And He would keep you in peace,
peace. Total peace. The peace that passes
understanding. This is what every psychiatrist
and psychologist is looking for. This is what every drug maker,
cure for depression, anxiety, this is what everybody is
looking for and it's been here all the time. The problem is people would
rather take a pill than control their mind. And it might put you in a zombie
like state, but it's not going to fix you. If you ever get clearheaded
again, your problem will still be there. No, this is the answer. This is the answer. This is the way. Get your checklist out, help me
out. Let's finish this up. Get your checklist. Here's a thought that's come to
your mind. And it says think about this. Do you just let it in? No, you have some questions. Right? Is this thought a true thought? If not, bounce it. Is this thought an honest
thought? There's just so much dishonesty
in the world. Much of the church world spends
most of their time talking about how bad things are. And they think that it's
spiritual. "Mmm, mmm, mmm. It's just the biggest mess. Biggest, lyingest, corrupt bunch
of folks." Did the Lord tell you could
think about that? About how bad they are, and all
the shenanigans they've pulled off? And how deceptive and how
tricky, you can talk about that and wile about that through
supper and riding in the car. He told you not to. Whatever things are honest. Whatever things are just. "That's just so unfair." Quit thinking about it. If you know it's unfair you're
not supposed to think about it. Knowing it, hearing it, knowing
it, being aware of it is not the same thing as meditating on it
the rest of the day. I don't know how much you know
about the ministry, or as ministry grows and develops, you
have a lot of people you're dealing with and other
ministries. But, more and more things are
happening and of course if you have thousands of people, then
you have thousands of situations, and whatever they're
dealing with. And if you let yourself -- there
would be some problem I could be thinking about all the time. Something somebody needs,
something that's not right, somebody messed up, this one
needs that. I could be thinking about
something wrong all the time. And if I did, I'd have no joy,
I'd have no strength, I'd have no peace. If I hear something, I want to
help. But I have found out worrying
about it doesn't help. And hearing somebody go through
and hash and rehash the details with me for three hours is not
going to help. He told me and you don't think
about that. Didn't He? I like Brother Jesse Duplantis'
counseling directive. He said, "I'm not a pastor. You don't want me to counsel
them. This is how I counsel. Admit it. Quit it. Forget it. Let's go. What's the problem?" Let's try that out. "Admit it. Quit it. Forget it." That's actually pretty good, I
like that. What's wrong with that? "Whatever things are true,
whatever things are honest, whatever things are just,
whatever things are pure," that means clean. What if it's unclean? "Oh, did you hear about that
nasty, perverted stuff?" No, and don't want to. "It's just awful." Well quit thinking about it. "I just can't, it's just stuck
in my mind." No, you want to think about it. That's why you keep thinking
about for the last three days is because you want to think about
it. "No. No." Yeah, yeah, elsewise would've
quit. "I'm just thinking about how bad
things are so messed up. People have gotten so far off." That's not spiritual. That's being undisciplined. That's ignoring the Word. I need to take you to another
Scripture, can you help me? Can you receive it? Maybe you can't help it, I'm
doing it. Hold your place in Philippians
but Ephesians five. In Ephesians 5:11, "And have no
fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather
reprove them. For it is a shame even to,"
what? "Speak of those things which are
done of them in secret." The Scripture tells us don't
talk about the perverted stuff they do. Don't talk about it. What benefit? You know a lot of things people
weren't aware of it, they weren't even thinking about it
until you brought it up and told them. Now they have that in their mind
for the rest of the day. This perverted stuff. They would've been better off
not meeting you right then. "It's just so bad." Well quit thinking about it. "It's just stuck in my head." Because you let it be. You choose to. No, whatever things are clean. What if you just think about
clean things, only clean things? Unclean stuff comes and you go
no you don't, no you don't. You grab it, you throw it down. And you just think about clean. When you think about clean it
makes you smile. "Oh, that's nice." Clean. True. Honest. Just. Pure. Keep reading. What else is on the list? Lovely. Isn't that lovely? Now that's a lovely thought. What's the opposite of lovely? Help me out. Ugly thoughts. Don't open the door and look
through the keyhole and go oh, that's an ugly thought. No. No. I don't let any ugly thoughts --
I told you this is an the elite club. No ugly thoughts in my club. Whatever things are of a good
report. What's the opposite of a good
report? Okay you hear bad report, that
doesn't mean that you can never hear one, but you heard it. Now you've heard it. Now what do you do? You don't think about it the
rest of the day and night. You don't lay there in bed and
think about the bad report and lose sleep. What do you think about? Are there any good reports in
this Book? Could you find one of them to
think on instead of the bad report? You're not denying that the
report was bad, you just don't have to think about it. "Well, if this doesn't change
this could happen. If this doesn't happen, then you
lose that and it's all going to go." Thank you for the report. I understand. In your mind you're thinking I
have to get out of here and get something else on my mind
pronto. Because if I dwell on that, it
will ministered death to me. And how could you tell if you
were thinking on the wrong thing? Help me out. How can you tell? No peace. What's it doing to you? What's it doing to you? Lovely, good report. Virtuous, excellent. What's the opposite of
excellent? Shoddy, second rate, junk. Don't be thinking about all
that, think about excellence. If there be any praise, if it's
worth praising. What if it's not worth praising? Don't think about it. If it's not worth praising, it's
not worth thinking about. Think on these things. Finally, go to Colossians the
third chapter. Colossians 3:15 he said, "Let
the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also you
are called in one body; and be ye thankful." See this peace and this
thankfulness goes together doesn't it? We saw don't worry about it but
pray about it and thank God and keep the right thing on your
mind and you'll stay in peace. Peace and thanksgiving, peace
and thanksgiving. But the peace of God rule in
your heart to the which you're also called one body and be
thankful. "Let the Word of Christ," which
contain His thoughts, "dwell in you richly in all wisdom;
teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the
Lord." Does that sound like being
depressed? Sound like being upset? No. Can you choose to do this in
every season, in every circumstance, and every
situation? Can you choose to do this? You can. Listen to the Amplified on verse
fifteen. "Let the peace from Christ rule (act as umpire continually),"
man that's exactly in line with the other passages that we've
seen. Here comes a thought, did it
minister peace you? No. You're out of here! Out of here! You're the ump. Bust that thing right out of
there. No, I'm throwing you out of the
game. Come in here and try to upset
me - not only am I not going to think about you, I'm throwing
you out. Let that peace rule, let that
peace act as umpire continually, "In your hearts [deciding and
settling with finality all questions that arise in your
minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of
Christ's] one body you were called [to live]. And be thankful..."
hallelujah, "Giving praise to God always." Hallelujah. Stand on your feet everybody.
