We are in the series “Transformed mind , Transformed life” and today I will give the last teaching of this series. This is the most important part because I will give you the practical steps of how to transform and renew our mind.
Your mind is the most important thing about you. It’s your mind that determines what you think is possible, what you think about God, what you think God has for your life.
Your life is the result of your decisions, just as you think, so you are!
Last week I told you that our mind is a battle field and most of life’s battle are won or lost in the mind. Let’s read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5.
3 “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,”
II Corinthians 10:3-5 NKJV
We live in a world but we do not wage war as the world does. As follower of Christ we have spiritual weapons and our weapons have divine power to demolish strongholds.
What’s is stronghold?
It’s a wrong pattern of thinking, it’s lies that the devil has been telling you for years and you believed and your life today is the result of this strongholds.
Paul said that we demolish arguments and every “ideas” that sets itself against the knowledge of God and we take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.
Why you need to change your mindset and the way you think ? Because your life is moving in the direction of your strongest thoughts. What comes into your mind tends to comes out in your life!
You can not have a positive faith-filled life, when you have a negative fear-filled mind.
You cannot have a positive mind when if you don’t have the control of what you think.
You as Christian you need to change your old mindset, and I told you that your mind will not be transformed instantly by a prayer, it takes time. You trained for years your mind to think in the wrong way , and you have strongholds that are lies for many years and now you need to training your mind.
Maybe a lot of you have not ever thought about training your minds.
You might have thought about training your dog or training your body.
For example. For years I thought that training my body was all about to exercise. To run, to jump, to swimming, to push-ups. But this is not true ! Training is not just what you do with your body but it is also what you put into it.This is a such good illustration of the mind.
It’s not just on how we have been thinking but also what we pour into our mind.
We can either train our mind to continue believing the wrong think or we can train our minds with the truth.
It’s not just what you do with it, it’s also what you put in it.
Let’s read Philippians chapter 4:8 and Paul the apostle wrote this letter from a Roman prison, he was arrested, waiting for execution, and now let’s read it.
“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honourable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”
Philippians 4:8 NLT
In prison, waiting for execution and he did not say: God let me down, abandoned me, He didn’t say: I can’t go on with life, or things could not get any worse than this.
He said from a Roman prison: “One final thing, Fix your thoughts on what is true, fix your thoughts on what is honourable, fix your thoughts on what is right, and pure and lovely and admirable.”
He didn’t say fix your thoughts on what you are afraid, or on what you hate, or on your problems, but fix your mind and “think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise”
You have to train your mind, fixing your thoughts, and meditating in God’s Word!
“I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways.”
Psalms 119:15 NKJV
Maybe what you know about meditation is eastern meditation, that you empty your mind and focus on nothing, but Christian meditation is totally different, it’s filling your mind with the Truth, it’s about to fill your mind.
You have to focus and training your mind in the truth!
Your mind normally focus on your insecurities, your fears, your worst case scenarios, and the lies that the devil has been telling you for years:
“You’re never going to be good enough, you are incapable, you should be ashamed of you, how could God ever use you, look who you are, from where you came from, look to your past,” etc
This is what you have in your mind for many years! You are believing in a lie for 10, 20 or 30 years and this process of transformed mind is not instantly, it takes time, it takes a little while to deprogram that mistruth and replace it with truth.
I’m going to give you a key from God’s Word that can transform your life if you put it into practice.
Are you ready to receive the Truth that can set you free?
What stronghold is holding you back?
1- What is the top wrong mindset that is holding you hostage?
- For some of you, because you grew up in a destroyed family, you don’t believe that you can have a blessed and great family. Or “I will never going to get married”, “I will never going to a blessed marriage”.
- Maybe you are fighting for years against addiction and you are saying: “I will never going to be able to overcome this addiction.”
– You might think of yourself, “I will never be healthy”. Or “I have tried to get close to God and I’m never going to be close to God”.
– “I will never going to have a meaningful job. I always going to do something stupid”
What is the dominant stronghold that the devil has trained you with the mental pathway to believe in something that is not truth about you?
1- You need to know what is your mindset that is hosting you!
2- You need to know the Spiritual Truth from God’s Word that demolish that stronghold.
Now we are going to take the spiritual truth, that is empowered by God’s Living Word that is powerful to bring transformation. We are going to let His Word renew our mind.
I want ask you to write or to type this truth, them we are going to start thinking on it and I encourage you to confess it until God starts to renew your mind.
We are going to write it, think it, confess it until we believe it !
It may take time! But you have to write it, think it, confess it until you believe!
Your mind should be renewed with God’s truth!
Example:
You maybe “lacking confidence”. Every time you fell insecure, inadequate, you fell you’re not enough. So you are going to create a statement based on God’s Word that could be like this :
“My confidence is in Christ alone. Because His Spirit lives within me, I can do everything that He calls me to do”
You are going to write it, to think it, to confess it until you believe it.
You might be struggling to know God’s will in your life. So you are going to create a statement that could be like this :
“My life belongs to God, daily I seek Him and He direct my steps. I know his voice, He leads me to his perfect will”
You are going to write it, you are going to think it, you are going to say it until you believe it. Over and over again.
You might have struggles with fighting lustful thoughts and you are sick and tired of being hostage to images and shameful ideas. So you are going to let God renew your mind with this over and over again:
“I’m not a slave to lustful thoughts. Because God has purified my mind and I have the mind of Christ. I will honour Him with my eyes and thoughts. My God is faithful. Even if I’m tempted He will alway out and I will live a holy life!”
Write it, think it, confess it, until you believe it.
Maybe you are fighting to loose weight:
“When I’m stressed, I turn to God not food. I come to Jesus because He is what I need. I’m Him I find strength and comfort”
When you find yourself battling Worry: (you have to write it , to think it, to confess it, till you believe it.
“Because of Christ, I’m not anxious about anything. I cast my cares on God because He cares for me. I have the peace of God dwelling in my heart and ruling my mind”
You have first to identify what is the stronghold that is hosting your mind then what is the spiritual truth that will set you free!
You have to write it, think it m confess it until you believe it !
Meditating on God’s word and training your mind with the truth, you are creating a new pathways and God is renewing your mind.
To help you I’m going to share mine strongholds that I had, because I had many. As a child I always battled with thoughts of inadequacy. (deficiency and insufficiency)
I’ve been attacking with God’s Word the one that’s haunted me since I was little kid. The lie that I’ve always believed is that: I’m never enough.
I will never be successful, I will never be a man that pleases God. I will never preach a good enough sermon, I will never be righteous enough to lead the church. If I give my best to the church, I fail Fabiana, Lycia and Alana.
If I bring my best at home, then I fail in leading the church that God has entrusted me. I can’t live up to your expectation, I will never be able to preach in English.
I’m not enough!
The challenge with that lie is that there is some truth in it!
I mean, there’s some truth, which makes it easy to believe. Because of my sinfulness, and because of my limitations, there are a lot of me that never will be enough.
But thankfully I don’t have to rely only on what is inside of me. But there is a power greater than me that absolutely and completely is more than enough.
So here is my truth and it’s from the word of God, 2 Peter 1:3
“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvellous glory and excellence.”
2 Peter 1:3 NLT
God’s divine power has given me everything I need to do.
He has given me the time to do what He’s called me to do. He has given me the strength to do what he’s called me to do.
When I’m weak, His strength is made perfect in me. 2 Corinthians 12:8-10
I have got the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwelling inside of me. Romans 8:11
He has given me everything that I need for life and godliness. 2 Peter 1:3
You will know the truth and the truth will set you free! John 8:32
What’s the driving lie that has held you back? What’s the truth that will set you free?
Maybe you think I can’t get it all done, and your truth is:
I can do all things through my Saviour Jesus Christ who gives me strength, when I’m weak, He makes me strong. Philippians 4:13 , 2 Corinthians 12:10
Maybe you feel like I’m never going to be attractive enough. I don’t like the way I look.
You are fearfully and wonderfully made by the grace of God. Psalm 139:14
He has given you gifts to make a difference in this World. Maybe you feel like: I’m always going be miserable. I’m always going to be depressed, no !
“The joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10
The moment the lie tells you’re going to always be alone. Say No – “My God is with me. He’s never going to leave me. He’s never going to forsake me”. Hebrews 13:5
Maybe the lie tells you that you are just nothing but a victim. No, no !
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”
Revelation 12:11 NKJV
God word tell me : I’m overcomer by the Blood of the Lamb, and by the word of my testimony
I’m not what who others say that I am. Im not even who the lies in my own mind say that I am.
I am who God says I am, I have what God says I have and I can what God says I can.
You will know the truth and the truth will set you free. You life in so many ways is moving in the direction of your strongest thoughts. What comes into your mind comes out in your life.
You can not have a positive faith-filled life, when you have a negative fear-filled mind.
So what are you going to do? We are going to capture those lies, name it and we are going to replace it with truth.
By the power of God, you will not stay locked in a prison because Jesus holds the key that set you free.
You will know the truth ! Truth is not just a concept, truth is a person! He’s name is Jesus!
He will set you free.
God bless and keep you.