What Were You Thinking?

[Pastor]

What Were You Thinking?

Think back .. last night .. What Were You Thinking?

This past week . . What Were You Thinking?

James 4:17 NKJV
17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

The BATTLE is USUALLY in your HEAD :)


RIGHT THINKING LEADS TO RIGHT BELIEVING:

Dr. Hagin testified that he was born with a heart disorder that didn’t allow him to run and play like the other kids. By the time he was 16, he was totally bedridden because his heart was so weak. He said.”I would lie in bed and think about my funeral .. who I wanted there, who I wanted to sing .. it was going to be BEAUTIFUL.” Then one day he was reading he Bible when he discovered the Jesus provided healing. It changed his mind .. it RENEWED his mind .. it caused him to think DIFFERENTLY about his future. Bro. Hagin say to himself, “What would I be doing if I was healed and up and out of this bed? I’d be preaching, that’s what I would be doing.” He asked for some paper and pen and he began to make NOTES – PREPARING to preach. What are YOU preparing to do in YOUR mind? Preparing to fail? Preparing to die? Watching scenes in your mind of your kids failing, dying – WHAT WERE YOU THINKING???????????

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We spend MOST of our time in our heads :) Think about that (pardon the pun). RIGHT thinking leads to RIGHT believing. We know what Jesus was thinking about as a kid, because of what He did when He was 12 – CHECK IT OUT:

Luke 2:10-3:1 NIV
11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.
21 On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.
22 When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"), 24 and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
29 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you now dismiss your servant in peace. 30 For my eyes have seen your salvation, 31 which you have prepared in the sight of all people, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel."
33 The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, 35 so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."
36 There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 and then was a widow until she was eighty-four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. 38 Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
39 When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. 40 And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
(Now think about this, Jesus’ mother would have told Him about what was said about Him in the temple at His dedication – she would have told Him about the angels’ announcement and the shepherds. You KNOW Jesus thought about those things by what is still coming up in this scripture passage. What did YOUR parents say to YOU as you were growing up .. “You can be ANYTHING you want to be . . reach for the stars . . or did your parents do the awful thing by saying, “You’ll never amount to anything”? EITHER WAY, the Bible tells us how to CHANGE our thinking.)
41 Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. 42 When he was TWELVE YEARS OLD, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. 43 After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. 44 Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. 45 When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. 46 After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. 47 Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. 48 When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."
49 "Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" 50 But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
51 Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. 52 And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.


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So what SHOULD we think? The MOST IMPORTANT scripture in the whole Bible on this subject it Phil 4:8

Phil 4:8, 9 KJV
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

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The Gate …

I did a message before called “The Gate”:

Picture if you will . . . a typical American home with a picket fence. The front is only accessible through a gate leading to the sidewalk to the front door.

You can’t push the gate open because the 3 hinges are badly rusted … you begin to work on the first hinge with some WD-40 and a wire brush.

Phil 4:8 is the WD-40 and wire brush that it will take to loosen this FIRST of THREE hinges …

Phil 4:8 KJV
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

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The SECOND hinge now needs work .. the gate is STILL stuck ..

Here is the oil and the tool that you need to get the SECOND of THREE hinges LOOSE:

Mark 11:22-23 KJV
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.

JESUS put the emphasis on WORDS .. God’s Creative Power is released through WORDS .. WORDS lead to ACTIONS (ever notice?)
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You’re ALMOST there … the gate is bending an straining, but you have the THIRD of THREE hinges to UNSTICK .. and HERE is the lubricant and tool that is needed:

Phil 1:27 KJV
27 Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;


The 3 hinges? Right Thinking … Right Words … Right Deeds.


The MOST IMPORTANT thing is thoughts .. here is where you can PREVENT yourself from sinning and here is where you can set the tone for VICTORY in your life …

A THOUGHT IS A SEED … think … what auto engineer has ever put pen to paper and designed an award winning vehicle without FIRST imagining it in his mind?

What decorator has ever presented an awesome design to a homeowner without FIRST seeing the home and IN HIS MIND, IMAGINING how it would look.

On the destructive side, what terrorist attack ever occurred without IMAGINING and PLANNING before EXECUTING?

Your THOUGHT LIFE is the KEY to the REST of your life.

Turn to 2 Cor 10

2 Cor 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; (the Name of Jesus is one of the weapons of spiritual warfare that Jesus gave us to use))
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;

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FINALLY – what should I think about all day?
Think Love – God does ?

Love thinks the BEST of every person – don’t believe it?

1 Cor 13:4-13 (NKJV)

4 Love is patient and kind (thinks kind thoughts as well); love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

The Amplified says is SO WELL in vs 7:

1 Cor 13:7 AMP
7 Love . . . is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].

8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; (You see, children think thoughts like, “Mine .. Oh yeah? Yeah .. I’ll GET you for that” – it takes a MATURE person to love and think loving thought about others – its time for some of us to grow up) but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.