Springhill Church

Topic: Life-change

  • Transformed – Part 7

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

    (1 Thessalonians 5:23 NIV)  (23)  May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

    One of the most misunderstood subjects in the Church is the subject of spiritual warfare.

    (Ephesians 6:10-18 NKJV)  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.  (11)  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  (12)  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  (13)  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.  (14)  Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,  (15)  and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  (16)  above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  (17)  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;  (18)  praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints–

    So then, what is spiritual warfare really all about?

    Spiritual warfare is really over the decisions that we make or we could say, your desires or your wants.

    The enemy uses your unfulfilled desires to generate and apply pressure in your life to get that desire fulfilled.

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

    Your success in resisting the pressure is what spiritual warfare is really all about.

    A temptation, test or trial is really about unfulfilled desire and the battles whether that desire is going to get fulfilled or not.

    The Holy Spirit desires to influence our decision making process through our spirits but the enemy brings pressure to bear on our flesh to cause us to make the wrong decision.

    (1 Corinthians 10:13 AMP)  (13)  For no temptation (no trial regarded as enticing to sin), [no matter how it comes or where it leads] has overtaken you and laid hold on you that is not common to man [that is, no temptation or trial has come to you that is beyond human resistance and that is not adjusted and adapted and belonging to human experience, and such as man can bear]. But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.

    The tests that you fail or flunk you must keep re-taking until you pass the test or you will stay exactly where you are.

    A test comes when the devil is generating pressure.

    If these tests are common to man than we should be able to gain some insight on how we can prepare for the tests before they arrive.

    (Luke 4:1-13 NKJV)  Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,  (2)  being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry.  (3)  And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”  (4)  But Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE BY BREAD ALONE, BUT BY EVERY WORD OF GOD.’ ”  (5)  Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.  (6)  And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.  (7)  Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.”  (8)  And Jesus answered and said to him, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND HIM ONLY YOU SHALL SERVE.’ ”  (9)  Then he brought Him to Jerusalem, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here.  (10)  For it is written: ‘HE SHALL GIVE HIS ANGELS CHARGE OVER YOU, TO KEEP YOU,’  (11)  and, ‘IN THEIR HANDS THEY SHALL BEAR YOU UP, LEST YOU DASH YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.’ ”  (12)  And Jesus answered and said to him, “It has been said, ‘YOU SHALL NOT TEMPT THE LORD YOUR GOD.’ ”  (13)  Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from Him until an opportune time.

    Three types of tests that we will face:
    1. The flesh’s unfulfilled desire for “food”.

    You will never be able to satisfy your flesh’s unfulfilled desire as it will always want more.

    (Proverbs 27:20 NLT)  Just as Death and Destruction are never satisfied, so human desire is never satisfied.

    There are a lot of things that the body desires that are contrary to the Word and the enemy will always bring the focus of your attention to that hunger.

    You have the challenge of resisting the pressure and living your life on the Word of God.

    1. The wrong relationship with this world (material realm).

    The devil wanted Jesus to misdirect His worship or His affection.

    Many times this will play out in areas to do with money.

    Money is nothing but a means of exchange in the material world and the power of the kingdoms of the world is money.

    1. The testing the Lord.

    Testing the Lord is doing the Word with the wrong heart motivation.

    The reason for doing the Word is just as important doing the Word itself.

    What is prompting us to do the Word of God?

    Are we doing the Word because it would put obligation on the Lord to do something for us and to relieve the pressure from us?

    How do we overcome the temptation and pressure on our desires?
    • Know there is a way of escape.

     (1 Corinthians 10:13b AMP)  …But God is faithful [to His Word and to His compassionate nature], and He [can be trusted] not to let you be tempted and tried and assayed beyond your ability and strength of resistance and power to endure, but with the temptation He will [always] also provide the way out (the means of escape to a landing place), that you may be capable and strong and powerful to bear up under it patiently.

     With every temptation there is a way of escape.

    “That you may be able to bear it…?” Bear what? The pressure!

    When you know there is a way of escape you can bear the pressure.

    Example: knowing payday is coming enables you to bear up under the stretch that sometimes we have to do making the pressure bearable.

    • Resist the pressure and he will flee just like he did with Jesus.

    (1 Peter 5:8-9 NKJV)  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.  (9)  Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.

    The temptation, test or trial is over your desires or your wants.

    Your consistency in resisting pressure and changing your stand on the Word of God will eventually bring you to the point that the desires are dissolved or can get fulfilled God’s way.

     How do I change my desires?
    • Surrender
    • Focus
    • Delight

    (Psalms 37:4-5 NLT)  Take delight in the LORD, and He will give you your heart’s desires.  (5)  Commit everything you do to the LORD. Trust Him, and He will help you.

     

  • Transformed – Part 6

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

    (1 Thessalonians 5:23 NIV)  (23)  May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

    How do we undo wrong thinking?
    1. Spend enough time in God’s Word for Him to make a suggestion of faith to you.
    2. Meditate on that suggestion over and over. (“You are a mighty man of valor”)
    3.  Contradict boldly every one of those thoughts that are contrary with the Word of God.
    4. Imagine your life being experienced that way that God wants you to live.

    Imagine breakthroughs. Imagine getting a raise. Imagine a great marriage. Imagine good, strong, godly children.

    Begin to put your words to it.

    Behavior will follow!

    Don’t Let Emotions Dictate Your Faith

    By Sarah Hahn for Relevant Magazine

    Growing up having attended numerous Christian conferences, retreats and the like, I’ve heard the following phrases repeatedly by many of my Christian brothers and sisters:

    “I feel so close to God.”

    “My relationship with God is really strong right now.”

    “I can definitely feel the Holy Spirit at work in my life.”

    These expressions can also commonly be heard from recent born-again Christians who are newly on fire for God or right after someone has experienced some divine encounter, such as a miraculous healing.

    It’s so easy for Christians to get fired up for God when we are surrounded by other Christians or when things are going well. Emotions run high. We really feel God’s presence. However, once we leave that place and return to our regular lives filled with distractions and responsibilities or circumstances begin to take a turn for the worse, quality time with God tends to get put on the back burner.

    Feelings are inconsistent. They’re unreliable. We can’t base our relationship with God on some wavering feeling or connection.

    Thus, the above expressions are often followed by one or more of the following several weeks later:

    “I feel so spiritually dry right now.”

    “Why can’t I hear God’s voice?”

    “I’m unable to feel God’s presence in my life.”

    The problem with so many Christians is that when this so-called spiritual high begins to wane, we immediately go back to doing the exact same things we did prior to that “feeling” we had. We prioritize our books over our Bible, we would rather connect to the Internet than connect to God, and we become too “lazy,” too “tired” or too “busy” that we run out of time for quiet time. As a result, that spiritual high you couldn’t stop talking about just a few weeks ago gradually starts to dissipate only to regain strength at the next retreat. This is what happens when we base our relationship with Jesus on our emotions.

    (Read more at http://www.relevantmagazine.com/god/practical-faith/dont-let-emotions-dictate-your-faith#rQ3fF2XvAQ3zzqWf.99)

    God does not want us to learn how to suppress or even kill our emotions and become like Mr. Spock of Star Trek.

    Feelings Really Do Matter!

    Your feelings provide the impetus behind your decision making process.

    God’s plan for us is that our faith and our feelings work hand in hand.

    God designed you that way. He designed you to “feel something” about whatever it is you are making a decision about and then those feelings are designed to give you the moving force or stimulus to move forward.

    It is only when our feelings are contrary to what God’s Word says are we to adjust or ignore our feelings.

    Three areas of our lives that uncontrolled feelings can have a disastrous effect:

    1. Uncontrolled feelings will kill your faith.

    You can strongly believe something but react to certain impulses differently from what you believe.

    Example of knowing and believing that “love never fails” but responding out of anger or resentment incorrectly will kill what you believe about walking in love.

    Unless I can control my emotion, I will not be able to act in correspondence with my faith and it will kill my faith.

    (James 2:17 AMP)  So also faith, if it does not have works (deeds and actions of obedience to back it up), by itself is destitute of power (inoperative, dead).

    1. Uncontrolled feelings corrupt the decision making process.

    Feelings are never to be the basis for your decision.

    We do some things because “I felt like it.”

    We don’t do some things because we don’t feel like it.

    Example of military training for dogs in combat environment, determines how they will respond to certain stimulus, which generate responses. They can learn not to bark in combat situations when their instincts want them to bark.

    1. Uncontrolled feelings will cause you to improperly judge other people.

    (Matthew 7:15-20 NIV)  “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.  (16)  By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?  (17)  Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.  (18)  A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.  (19)  Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.  (20)  Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

    The danger for us is to judge people’s hearts and not their fruit. We must judge their fruit.

    You must judge the fruit of someone’s life to determine if you can fellowship with someone or not.

    We try and judge someone’s motives (heart) by our emotions and determine whether a person can speak into our life or not, thus closing off channels of blessing that God is trying to bring into our life.

    How do you cultivate the correct feelings that you need?

    1. What you think about the most is what you feel the strongest about.

    Feeling is generated by thought.

    Your feelings confirm and support your thought processes.

    (Proverbs 23:7a BBE) For as the thoughts of his heart are, so is he:

    1. Renew your mind to the Word if you feel differently from what you are renewing your mind to.
    1. The mind renewal process is not complete until your desire and feelings line up with what you are renewing your mind to.

     (Psalms 37:4 NKJV) Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

    1. Start your day by creating feelings that line up with the Word of God.

  • Transformed – Part 4

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

    (1 Thessalonians 5:23 NIV)  (23)  May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

    How Do I Renew My Mind?

    (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 KJV) (3)  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:  (4)  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds😉  (5)  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

    Three Levels of Mental Activity:

    1. Selection of Thoughts
    2. Imaginations
    3. Strongholds

    Our thoughts are a process of moving through the circumstances of our everyday life.

    There is no such thing as a blank mind. Your mind is in operation all the time.

    Thoughts are introduced to you by the circumstances of life.

    1. The first level of mental activity is the selection of thoughts.

    (Matthew 6:31 KJV)  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

    You determine the thoughts that you take or reject.

    You take a thought by attaching words to it and saying it out of your mouth.

    (2 Corinthians 10:5b BBE) …causing every thought to come under the authority of Christ;

    The thoughts that come to you that do not correspond with the standards of God’s Word; if you do not put words to them, you don’t take them.

    The thoughts are in line with God’s Word or the dream He has placed in your heart, you take those by putting Words to them.

    1. The second level of mental activity is imagination.

    Imagination – the process of mental imagery.

    Mentally imaging your circumstance and the thoughts you have taken building an image of what your life can be as it relates to that thought pattern.

    This is the level where behavior comes into play as you begin to visualize your life in one way or another.

    The process of visual imagery is what leads to behavior.

    The process of repetitive or consistent behavior will only take place if there has been repetitive or consistent visual imagery.

    Patterns of behavior that can be defined as habitual, start this way. 

    1. The third level of mental activity is called a stronghold.

    We are created by God with the ability to create habit patterns to make us more efficient so that eventually you can do things without having to consciously think about them.

    Example – when we were young we had to remind ourselves or someone else remind us to go and brush our teeth in the morning.

    Habit – an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become involuntary.

    It literally can become an enemy fortification if Satan becomes involved.

    Realize that there is an anointing available to you to help you tear down those strongholds in our lives by casting down imaginations and go through the process of renewing your mind.

    How you can gain the victory over the strongholds in your life:

    1. Identify the stronghold.

    Be honest with yourself and with God.

    Deal with one stronghold at a time.

    1. Fast and deny the cravings of the flesh.

    This magnifies the anointing in your life and the anointing of God is designed to destroy bondages in our lives. (Isaiah 58)

    1. Pray and the Lord will answer.
    1. Push the enemy back with the Word of God.

    Jesus resisted the enemy with the Word of God in His mouth.

    Notice in the Lord’s temptation that Satan challenged Jesus on who He was and this will be the basis of a lot of our temptation.

    1. You cannot do this alone.

    (James 5:16 NKJV)  Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

    You may need some professional help especially where the body has gained a chemical dependency.

    Imagination will breed expectation.

    Your imagination and expectation will even impact those that are around you: your family, co-workers, etc.

    Examples: Parental studies proving that most children never excel above the expectations of their parents.

    Students at school in California where teachers were told they were the highest IQ students…

    How do you cultivate a greater level of expectancy in yourself?

    • Meditation in the Word of God – imagining yourself going beyond the barriers of pre-disposed limitations.

    (Joshua 1:8 AMP) This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe and do according to all that is written in it. For then you shall make your way prosperous (break out), and then you shall deal wisely and have good success.

    (Psalms 1:1-2 NKJV)  Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;  (2)  But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night.

    (Psalms 2:1 KJV)  Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? (meditate = imagine)

    We must not let others paint the canvass of our expectation for us but paint that picture for ourselves based on God’s expectation for us.

    Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more than knowledge, it is a preview of life’s coming attractions.”

    Charles Kettering said, “Our imagination is the only limit to what we can hope to have in the future.”

    We must go to the Word of God and find out what God’s expectations of us are and build our expectations around them.

    Be willing to step beyond the boundaries of limitations that others may have placed around you.

    (Acts 4:13-14 NKJV) Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus.  (14)  And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.

    Hope – To look forward to with confidence or expectation:

    Remember, Hebrews 11: 1 says, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

    (Isaiah 40:30-31 NKJV)  Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall,  (31)  But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.

    The Hebrew word for expected or expectation means as in a binding cord that attaches something to you.

    (Proverbs 24:13-14 AMP)  My son, eat honey, because it is good, and the drippings of the honeycomb are sweet to your taste.  (14)  So shall you know skillful and godly Wisdom to be thus to your life; if you find it, then shall there be a future and a reward, and your hope and expectation shall not be cut off.

    (Psalms 1:1-3 NKJV) (1)  Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; (2)  But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. (3)  He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

    In this scripture we see a progression of life and our behavior:

    • What you SIT and listen to the most of will determine what you stand for.

    If you never learn to sit and listen you will never be able to stand.

    Sitting implies listening and learning.

    • What you stand for will determine how you walk in life.
    • You can then walk out what you stand for and this determines the quality of your life.

    Your actions follow what you meditate or think on the most of.

  • Transformed – Part 3

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

    (1 Thessalonians 5:23 NIV)  (23)  May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

    God labors through your recreated spirit to influence your decision making process.

    Your soul is the seat of your decision making process and is comprised of your mind, will, and your emotions.

    Your body is influenced by the sensory perceptions it has to provide influences in your decision making process.

    How is your soul intended to operate?

    • Your Mind

    The mind has the God given capacity to perceive and understand and come to a logical conclusion on something.

    Measure and evaluate the information that God brings to you

    Based on the information that is presented to you make a decision – hopefully the right one.

    • Your Will

    Based on the information that you are presented you make decisions in your life which determine both the quality of your life and your destiny.

    Whether we want to admit it or not, the quality of life that we are experiencing right now is based upon the decisions that we have made in the past.

    Those decisions can be right or wrong based on the information that we have at that moment and that is why it is sometimes prudent to not make a decision in haste or under pressure.

    • Your Emotions 

    What place do the emotions have in our souls?

    The information or perception that we have about something will invoke an emotional response.

    OR Your emotions respond to whatever you spend time thinking about.

    God’s plan is that when you receive information from Him, you spend time thinking about and evaluating that information in order to make a decision to follow His will for your life. When you make your decision, an emotional response should follow that will give you the drive and momentum to follow through on your decision to completion and fruition.

    I think, I feel and therefore I choose.

    How Do I Renew My Mind?

    (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 KJV) (3)  For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:  (4)  (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds😉  (5)  Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

    Three Levels of Mental Activity:

    1. Selection of thoughts.

    (Matthew 6:31 KJV)  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

    You determine the thoughts that you take or reject.

    You take a thought by attaching words to it and saying it out of your mouth.

    (2 Corinthians 10:5b BBE) …causing every thought to come under the authority of Christ;

    The thoughts that come to you that do not correspond with the standards of God’s Word; if you do not put words to them, you don’t take them.

    The thoughts are in line with God’s Word or the dream He has placed in your heart, you take those by putting Words to them.

    1. The second level of mental activity is imagination.

    Imagination – the process of mental imagery.

    Mentally imaging your circumstance and the thoughts you have taken building an image of what your life can be as it relates to that thought pattern.

    This is the level where behavior comes into play as you begin to visualize your life in one way or another.

    (Genesis 11:6 KJV) And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.

    The process of visual imagery is what leads to behavior.

    The process of repetitive or consistent behavior will only take place if there has been repetitive or consistent visual imagery.

    Patterns of behavior that can be defined as habitual, start this way.

    1.  The third level of mental activity is called a stronghold.

    We are created by God with the ability to create habit patterns to make us more efficient so that eventually you can do things without having to consciously think about them.

    Example – when we were young we had to remind ourselves or someone else remind us to go and brush our teeth in the morning.

    Habit – an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become involuntary.

    It literally can become an enemy fortification if Satan becomes involved.

    Satan cannot read your mind but he observes our lives and can rightly deduce thought processes and imaginations that are not in line with the Word of God and he will bring his effort to bear in that area of demonstrated weakness.

    He has the authority to manipulate people and circumstances that are designed to exploit your demonstrated weakness to give you repeated, continued opportunity to establish a bad habit pattern.

    Example – I am not tempted to do drugs in any way so Satan does not send any drug dealers across my path to tempt me in that area because I have never demonstrated a weakness in that area.

    Realize that there is an anointing available to you to help you tear down those strongholds in our lives by casting down imaginations and go through the process of renewing your mind.

    How you can gain the victory over the strongholds in your life:

    1. Identify the stronghold.

    Be honest with yourself and with God.

    Deal with one stronghold at a time.

    1. Fast and deny the cravings of the flesh.

    This magnifies the anointing in your life and the anointing of God is designed to destroy bondages in our lives.

    (Isaiah 58:6 NIV)  “Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?

    (Isaiah 58:8-9a NIV)  Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.  (9)  Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I…

    1. Pray and the Lord will answer.
    1. Push the enemy back with the Word of God.

    (Luke 3:21-22 NIV)  When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened  (22)  and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

    (Luke 4:1-13 NIV)  Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,  (2)  where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.  (3)  The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”  (4)  Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’”  (5)  The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world.  (6)  And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to.  (7)  If you worship me, it will all be yours.”  (8)  Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’”  (9)  The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down from here.  (10)  For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully;  (11)  they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’”  (12)  Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”  (13)  When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.

    (Luke 4:18-19 NIV)  “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free,  (19)  to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

    Notice in the Lord’s temptation that Satan challenged Jesus on who He was.

    1. You cannot do this alone.

     (James 5:16 NKJV)  Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

    You may need some professional help especially where the body has gained a chemical dependency.

    To put the right things in your mind you must simply reverse the process:

    1. Focus on the Word of God.

    The Word is the standard of measurement.

    (Joshua 1:8 NKJV) This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

    1. Keep the Word of God before you and in your mouth.
    1. Build an imagination of your life being lived out in line with God’s Word and with different behavior.
    1. Stay consistent with the process – day and night.
    1. You can build a new habit pattern in 21 days!

     Based on behavioral studies that have established that. If you stay with this process you can change in less than a month!

  • Transformed – Part 1

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

    The Bible is very clear in teaching us that the way that we change is by changing the way that we think.

    So, if there are behaviors, habits, etc. that we have in our lives, then they can be changed or eliminated by changing the way that we think.

    Why is this so important?

    (Deuteronomy 30:19-20 NLT)  (19)  “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!  (20)  You can make this choice by loving the LORD your God, obeying Him, and committing yourself firmly to Him. This is the key to your life. And if you love and obey the LORD, you will live long in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”

    The quality of life that we have today is a result of the choices that we made yesterday.

    Those choices, either good or bad have been shaped by the decisions that we have made.

    The things that exercise the greatest amount of influence in our lives, are the things that help shape the decisions that we make on a regular basis.

    (1 Thessalonians 5:23 NIV)  (23)  May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

    Your soul is comprised of your mind, will, and your emotions.

    How is your soul intended to operate?
    • Your Mind

    The mind has the God given capacity to perceive and understand and come to a logical conclusion on something.

    Measure and evaluate the information that God brings to you

    Based on the information that is presented to you make a decision – hopefully the right one.

    Two primary sources of input for your mind:

    Your body – that lives in this natural temporal world perceiving information through your five physical senses.

    Your spirit – which is alive unto God and provides information that cannot come to you through your physical senses but has to do with present and future intent from God.

    • Your Will

    Based on the information that you are presented you make decisions in your life which determine both the quality of your life and your destiny.

    Those decisions can be right or wrong based on the information that we have at that moment and that is why it is sometimes prudent to not make a decision in haste or under pressure.

    • Your Emotions

    The information or perception that we have about something will invoke an emotional response.

    OR Your emotions respond to whatever you spend time thinking about.

    Emotions give you momentum towards the things that you have decided to do.

    Your mind interacts with your emotions or how you feel to produce desire and desire is the foundation of your decision-making.

    Your most consistent behavior will always reflect your strongest desire.

    Your desires are based on what you think about that situation and how you feel about that situation.

    I think, I feel and therefore I choose.

    How Do I Renew My Mind?

    So if I want to make better choices for my life that are in line with God’s plan for my life, then I must renew my mind or change my thinking. How do I do that?

    Renewing does not mean learning. Paul was writing to people who were Born Again and had a basic knowledge of the Word of God.

    (Psalms 131:1-3 NLT)  A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem. A psalm of David. LORD, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp.  (2)  Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.  (3)  O Israel, put your hope in the LORD–now and always.

    “Hope” in Hebrew means “trust”.

    Trust is probably the most important aspect of our relationship with God.

    We do not get to a place of trust until we are weaned in our souls.

    There are things that your mind says it is dependent on in order to be able to live, be happy, be content and be satisfied in this life.

    Your mind will tell you that there are certain things that must be exactly so in order for you to be happy.

    The weaning of the mind is a weaning from the dependencies that have to be there in order for you to be happy.

    Six things that seem to be most prevalent in most people’s minds that we need to wean our minds from:

    1. We must wean our minds from trying to figure everything out.

    (Proverbs 3:5-7 NIV)  Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  (6)  in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.  (7)  Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil.

    1. We must wean ourselves from a losing mentality.
    2.  We must wean ourselves from a selfish thinking.
    3. We must wean ourselves from pity parties.

    (Philippians 4:4 NIV)  Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

    1. We must wean ourselves from pride.

    (John 15:5 NIV)  “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

    1. We must wean ourselves of critical thinking.

    (Luke 6:37 MSG)  “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults–unless, of course, you want the same treatment. Don’t condemn those who are down; that hardness can boomerang. Be easy on people; you’ll find life a lot easier.

  • Soul Therapy – Part 4

    (Proverbs 4:23 GNB) Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts.

    • We let culture define who we are.
    • We let our past define who we are.

    (Romans 12:3 NIV) For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

    • Highly – an improper
    • Sober – having a right mind.
    • Faith – a belief and security about what God thinks about you and how He sees you.
    • You’ll never be right until you can
      see right.

    OVERCOMING INSECURITY

    (Judges 6:11-24 NIV) The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, “The LORD is with you, mighty warrior.” “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the LORD has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.” The LORD turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?” “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” The LORD answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.” …So Gideon built an altar to the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace.

    1. See God correctly.

    (Psalms 59:10 LB) My God is changeless in his love for me.

    1. See myself the way God sees me.

    (1 Peter 2:9 NLT) But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.

    1. Get around people who see me
      the way God sees me.

    (Proverbs 27:17 NKJV) As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.

    • Right relationships help us define who we are and
      what we become.

  • Soul Therapy – Part 3

    Today’s message is about ANGER.

    Two types of people:

    • skunk – who stinks up the whole place because they let everything out
    • turtle – who takes it all and bottles it up inside.

    Statistics about anger:

    • 60% of murders in America did not happen because someone set out to kill someone else. It is because a situation escalated to that level because of anger and was a reaction.
    • 4 million women are going to be abused by an angry husband.
    • 10 million children each year are abused because of angry parents.
    • Psychology Today calls this “the age of rage.”

    There is the possibility that this thing on the inside of us is caused by something else that really needs to be addressed.

    (Proverbs 29:22 NIV) An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.

    (Proverbs 14:17a NIV) A quick-tempered person does foolish things…

    (James 1:20 NIrV)  A man’s anger doesn’t produce the kind of life God wants.

    Three things we try that don’t work:

    • My (going to fight for my rights and my way)
    • Your (avoid conflict at all costs)
    • Half (we go halves on this and compromise)

    None of these really address the root issue.

    (James 4:1-2 NIV)  What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?  (2)  You desire but do not have, so you kill. You covet but you cannot get what you want, so you quarrel and fight. You do not have because you do not ask God.

    • It’s not about them, it’s about me.

     We keep wanting to change our circumstances and God keeps wanting to change us.

    (Psalms 139:23-24 NIV)  Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  (24)  See if there is any offensive (to God) way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

    OVERCOMING ANGER

    (Matthew 16:21-25 NIV)  From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.  (22)  Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”  (23)  Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”  (24)  Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.  (25)  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.

    1. Crucify self.

    (Galatians 2:20 NIV)  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

    We did this once when we received Jesus, but we must do it every day.

    (1 Corinthians 15:31a NIrV)  (31)  I die every day.

    When self dies, something else gets free and comes alive in you.

    1. Crucify my flesh.

    Crucify the part of you that still desires bad things.

    Isolate those things and deal with those areas.

    (Galatians 5:24 NIV)  Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

    (Colossians 3:5a NIV)  Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature…

    (Romans 6:6-7 NIV)  For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin–  (7)  because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

    1. Crucify the world.

    (Galatians 6:14 NIV)  May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

    (2 Corinthians 6:17-18 NIV)  (17)  Therefore, “Come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”  (18)  And, “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”

    • To find life, lose it.

  • How to Make 2016 Your Best Year

    Here are the notes from this message:

    We find that most Christian people often operate in one way or another:

    • People that have the tendency to float through their lives as a ship in the night running into whatever may happen in their lives, then they try to use their faith to overcome whatever happens.
    • People that set goals and move towards those goals with God’s help.

    Hebrews 11:1 NKJV
    (1)  Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

    Hope is not wishful thinking.

    Hope is a steadfast confidence or a confident expectation.

    Faith must have something to put substance to. These are the goals and objectives of our lives.

    You cannot live by faith without setting goals and objectives for your life.

    Philippians 3:13-14 GNB
    (13)  Of course, my friends, I really do not think that I have already won it; the one thing I do, however, is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead.
    (14)  So I run straight toward the goal in order to win the prize, which is God’s call through Christ Jesus to the life above.

    The prize is God’s call to the life above which is all that represents God’s highest and best for our lives.

    The life above includes all sufficiency, a good marriage and family, health and healing, good relationships, etc.

    But this by itself is too vague.

    Goals are marks or steps that take us on our way towards God’s highest and best for our lives.

    If you don’t set goals and objectives, you will have no mark to press toward and you will never arrive there.

    Zig Ziglar: “Aim at nothing and you will hit every time.”

    We must break down God’s call to this “life above” into segments that makes it easier to establish meaningful goals.

    Start with God’s highest and best and then with the Word of God, bring it down to meaningful goals that you can obtain.

    Example: Our Financial Blessing – All Sufficiency

    God’s way to all sufficiency is through giving but this is yet too general.

    Giving can be broken down into tithing and then discretionary giving or offerings.

    The tithe belongs to the Lord and unless you are obedient to this requirement you will not be able to proceed any further in this goal.

    Once you have been tithing you can begin to plant seed from your discretionary income.

    Priorities in Setting Goals:

    1. Your relationship with God
    2. Your marriage and spouse
    3. Your children
    4. Your church
    5. Your job or occupation
    6. Your social life

    Guidelines for Setting Effective Goals:

    1.  Do not confuse the goal with the blessing or reward of reaching your goal.
    • The goal is to be debt free with steps in place to get there
    • The blessing of being debt free is to have peace in your home where money is concerned.
    1. Be sure that all of your goals are ultimately towards the blessing and service of others.

     Matthew 10:39 NKJV
    (39)  He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it.

    1. Know that your time and energy are going to be your primary investments in that goal.

    Luke 14:28 NKJV
    (28)  For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it–

    1. Write down your goal down in a very simple way and review it daily.

    Habakkuk 2:2 GNB
    (2)  The LORD gave me this answer: “Write down clearly on tablets what I reveal to you, so that it can be read at a glance.

    1. Share your goal with someone to make yourself accountable to it.

    Michelangelo once said, “The greater danger for most of us isn’t that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”

    If the goal will not happen without God’s help, then it probably did not come from Him.

    Homework: Over the next few days before we get to the beginning of 2016, take some time to set some goals for the year and go to work on them. Pray over them and get them down into your heart.