“Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.”
— Colossians 3:1-3 (NIV)
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.”
— Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
This time, we want to see how God’s word teaches us that the higher we want to go in the Lord, the higher we must go in the way we think. If we can think like we’ll think in heaven we’ll experience more of heaven here on earth. Excellent thinking produces an excellent living. Change your thoughts, change your life.
Review
1. The mountains we have talked about represent both the potential God has for every area of our life and the challenges we must overcome to reach that potential.
2. There is no greater obstacle to victory than “stinkin’ thinkin’.”
Some observations about thinking
1. People (marriages, churches, businesses, teams) that rise to the top think differently than those who fail to rise. Our potential, relationships, our emotional health, our impact in the world for God are all directly connected to the way we think.
“As a man thinks in his heart so is he…” — Proverbs 23:7 (KJV)
“A man is disturbed not by things in his life but by his view of things in his life.” — Epictetus
2. God wants to raise our level of thinking to the level of opportunity and blessing He has for our lives.
3. People who rise to the summit don’t just accept thoughts that come, they create thoughts that God wants them to have and take down thoughts that would rob them and their families of their destiny. They are “thought warriors.” They realize the real battle for their lives is fought and won in their minds. (Philippians 4:8)
“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” — 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NIV)
We want to look at a man named Gideon
Gideon went from a wimp to a warrior by changing the way he thought; raising his thoughts to the level of God’s opinion of him. (Judges 6:11-16 NIV)
Gideon was a prisoner of his thoughts. He was caught in a victim and poverty mindset, blaming God, and surrendering hope. His hopelessness was not based on truth but on what he believed about his situation. The most important thing about your life isn’t the situation you’re in; it is what you believe about the situation.
Important things we can learn from Gideon:
1. Don’t believe everything your mind is telling you.
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
— 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NIV)
2. You can’t be a success on the outside, if you don’t know you are a success on the inside. You can’t fly like an eagle if you believe you’re a chicken.
3. The Devil can’t defeat us by his power, only by getting us to believe his lies. When you don’t buy the devil’s lies, the devil has no power in your life as a child of God. There are no hopeless situations, only people who have given up hope.
“I don’t have much more time to talk to you, because the ruler of this world approaches. He has no power over me.”
— John 14:30 (NLT)
“...for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.”
— I John 5:4 (NIV)
“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
— I John 4:4 (NIV)
4. Gideon partnered with the enemy and became a victim by what he was telling himself.
“…the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”
— Judges 6:13
How Gideon changed his thinking and changed his destiny:
God’s power is in God’s perspective. When you claim God’s perspective you step into His power.
“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
— John 8:31-32 (NKJV)
1. Gideon accepted the challenge to rethink his thinking and replace his old thoughts with new God’s thoughts. Freedom comes when we deconstruct old mindsets by challenging old assumptions and replacing them with what God says.
“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is his good, pleasing, and perfect will of God.”
— Romans 12:2 (NIV)
Am I willing to doubt my doubts and believe my beliefs instead of believe my doubts and doubt my beliefs.
2. He experienced the transforming power of truth by letting God speak it to His heart. Freedom comes not just by having truth but by hearing truth from God.
“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
— Romans 10:17 (NKJV)
“But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is to come.”
— John 16:13 (NIV)
3. Breakthrough comes when we not only think new thoughts but act on those thoughts. To break a stronghold we must decide, declare, and demonstrate faith by action.
...Purify “your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit...”
— I Peter 1:22 (NKJV)
4. Refuse to let thoughts that try to come in distract you from your focus. The enemy doesn’t gain a place by possession but by distraction.
Comments