Challenge it to Change it
You have to challenge what’s wrong in your life to change it.
To often we allow our future to be written by what our present dictates.
To often we allow the future of our past to catch us and overtake us.
To often we allow our past to effect our present and ultimately our future; it is time for us to take control of today so that our future can be what God knows it can be.
Remember – Your past is not your future as long as your focus is on Christ Jesus.
This message is about helping you take control of your life by focusing on who you are in Christ so that you live a victorious life.
We have to understand, what we think and dwell on will ultimately come out of our mouth, and if we dwell on a thought long enough we will at some point act on it. That being the case we can reasonably say; “What we have in our life, whether good or bad, is directly related to what we have meditated upon, said and act upon at some point.”
This message is about addressing what we dwell on in our thought life, which affects every part of our lives – spirit, soul and body. We need to understand what keeps us repeating the same mistakes over and over again. It is not bad luck or just the work of the devil. Sometimes we give the devil to much credit for things we have in our own control.
This message is about recognising our responsibility in our own destinies, which must be in line with the Word of God. To often we mess up our own lives and want to blame God for it when in actual fact He is the answer not the problem.
So let’s start at the beginning.
I believe this message will be life changing and ultimately destiny changing.
In the beginning God created us to have dominion and gave us the right to frame our world by words. Look at what Adam did in the garden to frame his destiny.
Then Adam committed treason and the fall of man took place.
We have to understand that at the fall of man we came under the authority of the sin nature. It was at this time our own words became weapons which are either against ourselves our against our enemies plans.
Every warrior needs to know the enemy’s capabilities, strengths, weaknesses, strategies and how and where they like to wage war. Our enemy had a problem with his thought life, which today, because of the sin nature we must take control of by renewing our mind.
So who or what is the enemy of God and man really?
This is who our enemy WAS before his fall
Ezekiel 28:12-19, Isaiah 14:12-14 and 1 Peter 5:8 we see where he originated from (a created being), his original job, we understand his way of thinking, his way of strategising and his mental state.
He was – Called the son of the morning
He was – Full of Wisdom
He was – Perfect in all his ways
He was – Perfect in Beauty
He was – The anointed cherub which covered
He was – A musician
He did – Walk in the Garden of Eden
He was – Covered in all precious stones
He did – Walk on the holy mountain of God
He did – Walk in the midst of the stones of fire
This who our enemy BECAME after his fall
He has – Iniquity found (violent deeds of injustice) in him
He is – A self promoter who said;
“I will ascend into heaven…”
“I will exalt my throne above the stars of God…”
“I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north…”
“I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most high.”
He is – Violent
He is – Lifted in pride
He – Defiled the sanctuaries
He – Walks about seeking someone to devour.
This is who our enemy is NOT
He is not “I am that I am” as God is!
He did not always exist as God does!
He did not create the whole universe as God did!
He did not create man after his own image as God did!
He is not all knowing as God is!
He is not always present as God is!
He is not our healer as God is!
He is not our deliverer as God is!
He is not our salvation as God is!
He is not our righteousness as God is!
He is not the giver of life as God is!
He is not the God who is more than enough as God is!
He did not give His only Son to die in our place as God did!
We have to challenge our destiny on the battle field of the mind.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 my bible is very specific when it tells me to bring every thought into captivity in the obedience of Christ. Your thought life is where the battle is started and finished;
Uncontrolled thoughts if not dealt with will lead to;
Uncontrolled feelings which if not dealt with will lead to;
Acting it out in the flesh which if not dealt with will lead to;
Spiritual oppression for the believer; remember a believer cannot be possessed but they can be seriously oppressed and harassed by evil spirits.
For the unbeliever if these things are not dealt with they will lead to – Spiritual Possession and THEY WILL need help to get free from this!
Ephesians 6:10-19 we fight against spiritual forces not natural forces. The weapons we use do not get their power from the senses; they get their power from the spiritual realm, which comes from God.
Our weapons are for a military campaign and they get their power “…ability, strength, might…” through the will of Jehovah God and their one purpose is to pull down the strongholds of the evil one.
A stronghold in this verse is a “…fortified position of strength in thought or reasoning…”
We must realise the battle we fight is not fought against people. This battle is a spiritual battle and is fought on spiritual terms. It is fought against spiritual forces that use natural senses (mind, will and emotions are affected) to cause us to remain in sin. To fight this battle correctly we must renew our minds to the Word of God and see who we are in Christ.
Act on the Word of God as if it had you name written on it.
How to change your circumstances!
Change what you are meditating on and replace it with what the Word of God says about your situation.
Mathew 12:34-35, Romans 12:1-2 you cannot change anything in your life without changing what you say about it. Because each time you say it, it reinforces those words in your heart. The key to success is to change what you meditate on.
Your words determine the course of your life.
James 3:1-6, Romans 10:8 what you believe in your heart will eventually come out of your mouth. Your words will take you in the direction of what you really believe. Planting God’s Word in your heart takes you in the direction of God's will for your life.
The most important thing is to change your inner image.
Matthew 12:37 Learn to see yourself as God sees you. Your inner man has been recreated in righteousness and true holiness.
Ephesians 4:24 we need to speak words that build God’s view of us into our lives.
Words paint pictures (images) when you hear the word dog, you don’t think D. O. G. you picture a dog in your mind. Different words increase the picture, “a big dog”, “with curly hair”, “black in colour” etc.
God’s Word also paints a picture in our hearts. It is God’s picture of who you are in Christ. The New Testament contains the words that paint the picture of our redemption. Those words are the seed that can bear the fruit of redemption in our lives. When your inner image lines up with the Word, the Word will come from your heart with full assurance and power.
The answer you need is near you it’s in your mouth
Matthew 12:34-37 a good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things.
The way it works is this, the seed of the Word of God goes in and the Spirit of God reveals it to you. The result is revelation knowledge.
Matthew 12:34 we read “…out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks…”
Abundance – of that which fills the heart (this is what will flow from your heart).
Heart – denotes the centre of all physical and spiritual life, the centre and seat of spiritual life.
Proverbs 15:28, 16:21-23; Ephesians 4:29 we will speak from those things, which actually fill our hearts.
Romans 1:16, 10:8-17 we read that “…faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Faith is produced by that Word (Faith comes by hearing). As faith grows, you open your mouth and speak the Word of God with that faith. The Holy Ghost is there to honour the words you speak in faith.
Mark 4:14-20 the sower sows the Word of God.
1 Corinthians 1:18-24 the gospel we preach is the power of God.
Everything was created by God’s Word
Hebrews 11:3 – (Genesis 1:1-2:2) the creative power of God’s spoken word formed the world and everything in it. The words God spoke released the spiritual force of Faith. Faith is a spiritual force, and through that spiritual law or force of faith, God created all things.
The Word of God created everything we can touch with our physical senses. The believer has the same ability through the words of his mouth
Proverbs 18:21 – Deuteronomy 30:14-15 – Proverbs 14:3 we must be aware of the things we say, as they contain the power to produce in our lives. Your words can activate God’s forces (Words of Faith) OR your words can activate the devils forces (Words of Fear).
The Word of God works in any situation
Key 1 — Make a quality decision
Deuteronomy 30:19 the key for the believer is to make a quality decision to put the Word of God first place in their life and allow it to be final authority. It is not trying the Word to see if it works, but doing the Word, believing it has worked. There must be a decision that God is your source of supply.
Key 2 — Do not compromise
John 8:31-32 the truth shall make you free. You must not compromise the Word of God in your life, but believe and act upon the Word of God regardless.
Key 3 — Understand sense knowledge will fail
Hebrews 11:6 He rewards those who diligently seek Him. Sense will not reveal God or the Word of God because it is based on the five physical senses, not faith in God.
2 Corinthians 4:18 we do not look at the things we can see.
Key 4 — Understand revelation knowledge always triumphs
Matthew 16:17-19 remember what Jesus said to Peter “…for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.” God imparts knowledge to man’s spirit by the Holy Ghost. This is revealed knowledge, which is creative and powerful in God.
Key 5 — Understand revelation knowledge is from God’s Spirit
Colossians 1:9-13 Paul prayed believers would be filled with the knowledge of God’s will, with all wisdom and spiritual understanding. We have the ability to hear the voice of God as we meditate His Word and fellowship with Him in prayer. Fellowship with the Father causes the things of the world to lose their hold on the believer and his thinking. It allows Gods thinking to take hold so that we can put the Word of God to work and receive its affects in our life. Revelation knowledge invents, creates and produces God’s will and provision in the life of a believer.
|
