WEBVTT 00:00:01.199 --> 00:00:04.219 Sharing good news of great joy to all people, 00:00:04.419 --> 00:00:10.460 Elation Church. This is week number three in 00:00:10.460 --> 00:00:13.300 our series entitled The Door. Everyone say The 00:00:13.300 --> 00:00:16.980 Door. We're going to do a little bit of recap, 00:00:17.100 --> 00:00:21.300 but I can't preach all two messages here this 00:00:21.300 --> 00:00:24.719 morning. Everybody goes, Amen. I'm glad you can. 00:00:25.929 --> 00:00:28.769 But we will do a little bit to recap. Ephesians 00:00:28.769 --> 00:00:32.590 1 .19, I'm reading out of the New Living Translation, 00:00:32.590 --> 00:00:36.390 unless otherwise noted. And it says this, I also 00:00:36.390 --> 00:00:40.350 pray that you will understand the incredible 00:00:40.350 --> 00:00:45.009 greatness of God's power for us who believe him. 00:00:45.350 --> 00:00:47.450 Now, this is right there in the middle of the 00:00:47.450 --> 00:00:51.450 Ephesians 1 prayer. And in that prayer, Paul 00:00:51.450 --> 00:00:54.840 is just... crying out to God saying, God, enlighten 00:00:54.840 --> 00:00:57.780 my understanding. Help me to see all that you 00:00:57.780 --> 00:01:02.179 have and all that you are. Because if you're 00:01:02.179 --> 00:01:07.939 aware, we need to hear from God. Amen? We need 00:01:07.939 --> 00:01:11.239 to hear him. We're supposed to be led by him. 00:01:11.400 --> 00:01:14.260 So therefore, we need to hear him. We need to 00:01:14.260 --> 00:01:17.280 know him and acknowledge him in all things. Amen? 00:01:18.239 --> 00:01:21.439 Amen. So he's saying, enlighten my understanding, 00:01:21.700 --> 00:01:25.760 reveal yourself to me, O God. And here he's asking 00:01:25.760 --> 00:01:29.040 for understanding for a specific thing, the incredible 00:01:29.040 --> 00:01:33.480 greatness of God's power. Incredible greatness 00:01:33.480 --> 00:01:35.519 of God's power. And what it's saying here is 00:01:35.519 --> 00:01:39.879 that when we invest our belief in God's word, 00:01:40.040 --> 00:01:43.739 our understanding of God's power builds within 00:01:43.739 --> 00:01:49.700 us. If you invest your money in... systems, right? 00:01:49.799 --> 00:01:52.500 You invest it in the stock market, for instance, 00:01:52.659 --> 00:01:55.799 because you deem it valuable. You honor it. You 00:01:55.799 --> 00:01:59.379 want it to grow within you. Faith is your investment 00:01:59.379 --> 00:02:03.159 of your belief in the Word of God and allowing 00:02:03.159 --> 00:02:06.480 the greatness and that revelation power to grow 00:02:06.480 --> 00:02:09.500 on the inside of you. Because it's the most valuable 00:02:09.500 --> 00:02:14.159 thing to you. Amen? So when we invest our belief 00:02:14.159 --> 00:02:18.289 in God's Word, we see and we understand With 00:02:18.289 --> 00:02:21.849 His revelation, the power that He has, what? 00:02:21.889 --> 00:02:26.569 For the believer. It's not just generic. He's 00:02:26.569 --> 00:02:29.669 not saying that God's power is just, oh, He's 00:02:29.669 --> 00:02:32.689 powerful. But He's saying that His power is for 00:02:32.689 --> 00:02:36.349 His people to accomplish His will in the earth. 00:02:36.569 --> 00:02:41.949 Amen? It's directed. It has a purpose for you. 00:02:42.050 --> 00:02:44.580 Point to yourself, it has a purpose for me. It's 00:02:44.580 --> 00:02:47.919 directed towards me for us to accomplish things 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:51.419 and to build his kingdom in the earth. That's 00:02:51.419 --> 00:02:54.400 why in the Lord's Prayer, it's his will. Let 00:02:54.400 --> 00:02:59.039 your will be done, O God, on earth as it is in 00:02:59.039 --> 00:03:04.659 heaven. Amen. That's his will. On earth as it 00:03:04.659 --> 00:03:09.900 is in heaven. Let that sink in. Let that saturate 00:03:09.900 --> 00:03:13.150 your mind this morning. On earth. as it is in 00:03:13.150 --> 00:03:17.909 heaven. That's the will of God. Amen. And then 00:03:17.909 --> 00:03:22.949 we turn now to Genesis 28. We're reading a passage 00:03:22.949 --> 00:03:26.889 in the Old Testament that reveals a New Testament 00:03:26.889 --> 00:03:29.729 reality. And this is the story of Jacob's ladder, 00:03:29.849 --> 00:03:32.650 if you're familiar with it. But verse 11 says 00:03:32.650 --> 00:03:35.849 this, Jacob found a stone to rest his head against 00:03:35.849 --> 00:03:39.580 and lay down to sleep. As he slept, he dreamed 00:03:39.580 --> 00:03:42.580 of a stairway that reached from the earth up 00:03:42.580 --> 00:03:46.240 to heaven. And he saw the angels of God going 00:03:46.240 --> 00:03:49.740 up and down the stairway. At the top of the stairway 00:03:49.740 --> 00:03:53.020 stood the Lord. And then Jacob awoke from his 00:03:53.020 --> 00:03:55.599 sleep. If I saw the Lord, I'd awake from my sleep 00:03:55.599 --> 00:03:58.419 too, right? I'd be like, whoa. So he awakes from 00:03:58.419 --> 00:04:01.479 his sleep and he says, surely the Lord is in 00:04:01.479 --> 00:04:07.490 this place. What an awesome place this is. It 00:04:07.490 --> 00:04:09.770 is none other than the house of God. Everybody 00:04:09.770 --> 00:04:13.610 say house of God. None other than the very gateway 00:04:13.610 --> 00:04:16.829 to heaven. Everybody say gateway to heaven. And 00:04:16.829 --> 00:04:20.149 as we've seen these words, house of God is Hebrew, 00:04:20.310 --> 00:04:23.269 it means house, household, temple, or dwelling 00:04:23.269 --> 00:04:27.990 place. And that word gate there is shahar, meaning 00:04:27.990 --> 00:04:31.750 opening gate or door. So what it's saying is 00:04:31.750 --> 00:04:34.709 there's a door. There's the dwelling place of 00:04:34.709 --> 00:04:36.889 God, but then there's a door, there's a gate, 00:04:36.949 --> 00:04:39.829 there's an opening between heaven and earth, 00:04:40.069 --> 00:04:43.889 between the spiritual and natural realms. There's 00:04:43.889 --> 00:04:46.529 an opening. And where is this opening located? 00:04:46.949 --> 00:04:49.829 Jacob saw angels. He's moving from this temple 00:04:49.829 --> 00:04:52.350 dwelling place through a door to accomplish his 00:04:52.350 --> 00:04:56.529 work in the earth. But when we turn now to Revelation, 00:04:57.050 --> 00:05:01.680 in Revelation 4, 1 through 2, John says, Then 00:05:01.680 --> 00:05:06.879 as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven. 00:05:07.339 --> 00:05:11.459 And instantly, I was in the Spirit. And I saw 00:05:11.459 --> 00:05:14.959 a throne in heaven and someone, I included this 00:05:14.959 --> 00:05:17.639 because he's talking about God here, God sitting 00:05:17.639 --> 00:05:22.920 on it. In church, it's important for you to understand 00:05:22.920 --> 00:05:26.420 that why is all this written out in so much description? 00:05:29.959 --> 00:05:35.819 When he looked, he saw something. You will not 00:05:35.819 --> 00:05:39.899 see what you're not looking for. God says to 00:05:39.899 --> 00:05:44.540 seek and you will find. Knock and the door will 00:05:44.540 --> 00:05:48.879 be opened to you. We have to focus our attention, 00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:51.800 as we saw last week, we have to focus our attention 00:05:51.800 --> 00:05:55.100 on heavenly things in order to experience heavenly 00:05:55.100 --> 00:06:02.990 realities. And instantly, sometimes we want the 00:06:02.990 --> 00:06:06.069 instantly things. We pray for the instantly things, 00:06:06.209 --> 00:06:11.129 but we're not looking. Instantly, he was where? 00:06:11.170 --> 00:06:14.449 In the Spirit. And in the Spirit is where he 00:06:14.449 --> 00:06:18.589 sees heaven in all its glory, the throne room 00:06:18.589 --> 00:06:22.730 of eternity. Amen? That's good. 1 Corinthians 00:06:22.730 --> 00:06:26.310 3 .16 reminds us that do you not know? That means 00:06:26.310 --> 00:06:28.689 there's something that you should know. As a 00:06:28.689 --> 00:06:31.329 believer in Christ, you should know this, that 00:06:31.329 --> 00:06:34.170 you are the temple of God, and that the Spirit 00:06:34.170 --> 00:06:41.089 of God dwells in you. Amen. So, and then I want 00:06:41.089 --> 00:06:43.550 us to turn now, I included this, Revelation 3 00:06:43.550 --> 00:06:48.689 .20, when God is talking to the church of Laodicea, 00:06:48.689 --> 00:06:52.230 He says this, Look, I stand at the door and knock. 00:06:53.110 --> 00:06:59.180 If you hear my voice, If you hear my still small 00:06:59.180 --> 00:07:06.040 voice, and if you open the door, I will come 00:07:06.040 --> 00:07:10.639 in. That's a promise. If you hear my voice, if 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:14.819 you open the door, I will come in. And we will 00:07:14.819 --> 00:07:21.319 share a meal together as friends. Somebody needs 00:07:21.319 --> 00:07:24.319 to get excited about this. This is good. Amen. 00:07:24.399 --> 00:07:27.620 God's word is good. We need to get a hold of 00:07:27.620 --> 00:07:32.379 this. Amen? It's not just information. It can 00:07:32.379 --> 00:07:36.399 no longer just be information to us. It's got 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:40.620 to be more than that. God wants to come in. He 00:07:40.620 --> 00:07:45.240 wants to share with you. Amen. He's knocking 00:07:45.240 --> 00:07:48.660 at the door. So God is in heaven. He is in you. 00:07:49.300 --> 00:07:51.839 What does it say? God is eagerly waiting on you 00:07:51.839 --> 00:07:55.300 to open your door to Him. And that's what we've 00:07:55.300 --> 00:07:58.529 been talking about. We open our door so that 00:07:58.529 --> 00:08:03.529 His power can flow through us. Amen? It can flow 00:08:03.529 --> 00:08:07.990 through you today. It's for you to accomplish 00:08:07.990 --> 00:08:10.709 His will in the earth. And that's why this series 00:08:10.709 --> 00:08:16.050 is called The Door. So we realize the door between 00:08:16.050 --> 00:08:21.129 heaven and earth lies within us. And then we 00:08:21.129 --> 00:08:24.430 read here in Matthew 16. 13 through 19 is our 00:08:24.430 --> 00:08:28.029 main passage. And it says this, tells us a story 00:08:28.029 --> 00:08:32.330 about, picking up in verse 13, when Jesus came 00:08:32.330 --> 00:08:35.590 into the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked 00:08:35.590 --> 00:08:39.309 his disciples saying, who do men say that I, 00:08:39.409 --> 00:08:42.389 the son of man, am? Who do men say that I am? 00:08:42.970 --> 00:08:46.389 So they said, some say John the Baptist, some 00:08:46.389 --> 00:08:49.570 say Elijah, and others, Jeremiah, are one of 00:08:49.570 --> 00:08:52.720 the prophets. And then Jesus looked at him and 00:08:52.720 --> 00:08:57.399 said, he said to them, but who do you say that 00:08:57.399 --> 00:09:03.100 I am? Who do you say that I am? And Simon Peter 00:09:03.100 --> 00:09:07.059 answered and said, you are the Christ, the son 00:09:07.059 --> 00:09:13.779 of the living God. Jesus answered and said to 00:09:13.779 --> 00:09:16.980 him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, for flesh 00:09:16.980 --> 00:09:19.580 and blood has not revealed this to you, but my 00:09:19.580 --> 00:09:25.019 Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you 00:09:25.019 --> 00:09:28.940 that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build 00:09:28.940 --> 00:09:32.240 my church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail 00:09:32.240 --> 00:09:36.000 against it. And as we've seen, Peter's flesh, 00:09:36.039 --> 00:09:38.799 even though there's a large portion of the Christian 00:09:38.799 --> 00:09:42.440 body that likes to... Think that Peter is the 00:09:42.440 --> 00:09:45.460 foundation. His physical bones are the foundation 00:09:45.460 --> 00:09:48.340 that the church is built on. He wasn't saying 00:09:48.340 --> 00:09:51.200 Peter the person, but he was saying Peter what 00:09:51.200 --> 00:09:54.940 happened, what he said. This revelation that 00:09:54.940 --> 00:09:58.740 came to him that Jesus is the Christ, the Son 00:09:58.740 --> 00:10:02.039 of the living God. The rock is the rock of the... 00:10:02.360 --> 00:10:05.519 The prophecy being fulfilled in Jesus that he 00:10:05.519 --> 00:10:08.960 is the coming one, the Savior, amen? And then 00:10:08.960 --> 00:10:11.899 it's the method of how he received this news, 00:10:12.000 --> 00:10:16.480 this grand revelation. It was the method. Where 00:10:16.480 --> 00:10:19.600 did it come from? He said, Jesus says, look, 00:10:19.700 --> 00:10:22.419 Peter, flesh and blood has not revealed this 00:10:22.419 --> 00:10:25.799 to you. This did not come from your own head, 00:10:25.899 --> 00:10:28.399 your own imagination. Where did it come from? 00:10:28.419 --> 00:10:31.879 It didn't come from someone else. It came from 00:10:31.879 --> 00:10:36.440 the Father in heaven. And there's things that 00:10:36.440 --> 00:10:42.039 the Father in heaven wants to show you. Peter's 00:10:42.039 --> 00:10:44.340 door, we see, we could say Peter's door is open 00:10:44.340 --> 00:10:48.000 to God's power. And then divine truth flows out 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:50.940 of Peter to accomplish God's purpose in the earth. 00:10:51.799 --> 00:10:54.840 This is written so that we understand, but it's 00:10:54.840 --> 00:10:58.299 like he's speaking in a crowd and a group of 00:10:58.299 --> 00:11:00.740 other people, and all of a sudden, This is a 00:11:00.740 --> 00:11:03.539 bold statement that Jesus, you are the Christ, 00:11:03.620 --> 00:11:05.879 the Son of the living God. I mean, this is huge. 00:11:06.539 --> 00:11:10.899 This had impact. This truth is flowing out to 00:11:10.899 --> 00:11:14.100 accomplish God's purpose in the earth. And then 00:11:14.100 --> 00:11:19.860 a little bit later, he gives an interesting key, 00:11:20.080 --> 00:11:23.159 we could say. He says, I will give you the keys 00:11:23.159 --> 00:11:26.500 of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on 00:11:26.500 --> 00:11:29.059 earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you 00:11:29.059 --> 00:11:33.080 loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. Again, 00:11:33.080 --> 00:11:36.860 we're talking about that through you is a door 00:11:36.860 --> 00:11:41.480 that you can open or close to spiritual realities. 00:11:41.559 --> 00:11:44.340 This is not just talking about heaven, the abode 00:11:44.340 --> 00:11:47.220 of God. This word heaven here in the original 00:11:47.220 --> 00:11:49.399 language is talking about the heaven realm. It's 00:11:49.399 --> 00:11:53.200 talking about the heavens. And he's saying that 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:56.820 it's you. He's given you the authority to open. 00:11:57.039 --> 00:12:00.100 He's given you the authority to keep close, to 00:12:00.100 --> 00:12:03.320 bind, to lose spiritual influence in the earth. 00:12:05.360 --> 00:12:08.519 God gives us the keys, meaning the method, the 00:12:08.519 --> 00:12:11.039 ability, the authority to open and close the 00:12:11.039 --> 00:12:15.820 door. But he lets us decide. He's a great gentleman. 00:12:16.100 --> 00:12:19.200 You are a moral free agent. You have free will. 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:26.740 That means that he respects your decisions. He 00:12:26.740 --> 00:12:30.639 lets you decide what influence. He doesn't just 00:12:30.639 --> 00:12:34.779 rush in and force, push his way through. He lets 00:12:34.779 --> 00:12:39.519 you decide. Continue reading verse 21. From that 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:42.559 time, Jesus began to show to his disciples that 00:12:42.559 --> 00:12:45.500 he must go. Notice that it says he showed them. 00:12:47.080 --> 00:12:50.080 Did he pull out a flannel graph? Has anybody 00:12:50.080 --> 00:12:51.879 ever seen one of those flannel boards where they 00:12:51.879 --> 00:12:54.580 stick the little things? Did he show them some 00:12:54.580 --> 00:12:57.039 kind of image? What is he talking about here? 00:12:57.740 --> 00:13:01.299 He showed them something. He's telling them words 00:13:01.299 --> 00:13:05.659 filled with graphic imagery. He's showing them 00:13:05.659 --> 00:13:07.899 something to his disciples that he must go to 00:13:07.899 --> 00:13:10.580 Jerusalem, suffer many things from the elders 00:13:10.580 --> 00:13:13.399 and chief priests and scribes, and be killed 00:13:13.399 --> 00:13:18.889 and be raised the third day. He was telling them 00:13:18.889 --> 00:13:22.830 something, a future, showing them what the future 00:13:22.830 --> 00:13:29.029 would look like. Okay? Then Peter, listen, Peter, 00:13:29.250 --> 00:13:34.529 verse 22, Peter took him aside. Why do you think 00:13:34.529 --> 00:13:38.690 that happened? He takes him aside. He's probably 00:13:38.690 --> 00:13:42.549 because that image that Jesus just showed, listen, 00:13:42.730 --> 00:13:47.480 was different. than Peter's image that he had 00:13:47.480 --> 00:13:50.980 already built up and preconceived. It contradicted 00:13:50.980 --> 00:13:53.980 it. It was not what he thought. It's not the 00:13:53.980 --> 00:13:56.960 way he thought life should be. And Jesus' future 00:13:56.960 --> 00:14:00.220 would be. Even though Jesus had constantly told 00:14:00.220 --> 00:14:02.440 and told and told them this is not the first 00:14:02.440 --> 00:14:06.139 time, but they didn't believe it. They were still 00:14:06.139 --> 00:14:08.279 struggling, still trying to figure it out. And 00:14:08.279 --> 00:14:10.759 they're like, Jesus, what do you mean? Quit, 00:14:10.860 --> 00:14:14.080 whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. grabs Peter, pulls him 00:14:14.080 --> 00:14:17.379 to the side, and then rebukes him, scolds him, 00:14:17.480 --> 00:14:23.220 saying, far be it from you, Lord. This, what 00:14:23.220 --> 00:14:26.039 is that? The word, the spoken word, the prophetic 00:14:26.039 --> 00:14:30.220 word that Jesus just delivered, this shall not 00:14:30.220 --> 00:14:35.539 happen to you. It's never innocent, as we've 00:14:35.539 --> 00:14:38.860 seen, it's never innocent to say that God's word 00:14:38.860 --> 00:14:43.899 will not happen. It's demonic. It's from Satan. 00:14:43.980 --> 00:14:46.639 And Jesus reveals this in verse 23. He says, 00:14:46.779 --> 00:14:59.080 Now, did Peter turn into Satan? No, Peter didn't 00:14:59.080 --> 00:15:03.879 turn into Satan. But he opened his door to Satan's 00:15:03.879 --> 00:15:07.700 power. And we see that this manipulation and 00:15:07.700 --> 00:15:11.230 deception, this... Misunderstanding flows out 00:15:11.230 --> 00:15:14.649 because he questions what God says, the vision 00:15:14.649 --> 00:15:19.129 of the future. Why did this happen? Well, Jesus 00:15:19.129 --> 00:15:21.710 tells us, as we've seen in verse 23, it says, 00:15:21.850 --> 00:15:25.330 For you, Peter, are not mindful, everybody say 00:15:25.330 --> 00:15:28.629 mindful, mindful of the things of God, but the 00:15:28.629 --> 00:15:31.990 things of men. And this Greek word here means 00:15:31.990 --> 00:15:35.570 to think, to set one's mind on, to have a mindset 00:15:35.570 --> 00:15:40.740 of. So we see in one instance, his mind was on 00:15:40.740 --> 00:15:44.259 the things of God, and God was able to accomplish 00:15:44.259 --> 00:15:46.759 his purpose, and his power flows through Peter 00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:51.000 in that moment. And then in a moment's turnaround, 00:15:51.700 --> 00:15:54.639 we see the opposite happening. His mind is focused 00:15:54.639 --> 00:15:58.200 on what he thought, his own understanding, and 00:15:58.200 --> 00:16:01.460 instantly Satan... flows through the door of 00:16:01.460 --> 00:16:04.460 his mind, flows through his mouth, and starts 00:16:04.460 --> 00:16:07.159 saying that God's word will not come to pass. 00:16:08.600 --> 00:16:13.899 So the door is in us, but it's specifically in 00:16:13.899 --> 00:16:21.860 our minds. We have to choose who we open our 00:16:21.860 --> 00:16:25.860 door to, who we keep our door closed to, who 00:16:25.860 --> 00:16:29.450 we permit or deny access, right? And as we've 00:16:29.450 --> 00:16:33.309 seen, because, listen, the truth that we've seen 00:16:33.309 --> 00:16:37.529 in this passage is that you are empowered by 00:16:37.529 --> 00:16:41.950 what you set your mind on. This is not just a 00:16:41.950 --> 00:16:44.590 good saying. This is the truth of God's Word 00:16:44.590 --> 00:16:46.970 being revealed. You are empowered by. There's 00:16:46.970 --> 00:16:49.350 more going on than just you thinking a thought. 00:16:50.830 --> 00:16:56.600 No thought is neutral. You are empowered by what 00:16:56.600 --> 00:16:59.700 you set your mind on. And like Peter, what you 00:16:59.700 --> 00:17:02.559 are mindful of then determines what influence 00:17:02.559 --> 00:17:08.500 the door of your mind is open to. And we've looked 00:17:08.500 --> 00:17:11.640 at Romans 12 too. It says this, and do not be 00:17:11.640 --> 00:17:14.900 conformed, means in the likeness, in the fashion 00:17:14.900 --> 00:17:19.480 of this world. Don't mirror it. Don't conform 00:17:19.480 --> 00:17:26.380 to it. But be transformed. by the renewing of 00:17:26.380 --> 00:17:29.980 your mind. This word transform is the Greek word 00:17:29.980 --> 00:17:32.079 metamorpho. It's where we get our English word 00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:36.400 metamorphosis, exactly. And it means to transform 00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:39.920 or to change form. Like a caterpillar to a butterfly, 00:17:40.140 --> 00:17:43.160 there's natural change involved. And as we saw 00:17:43.160 --> 00:17:46.500 in week one, this is the same word at the transfiguration 00:17:46.500 --> 00:17:49.819 of Christ. It's used there too. So it goes, transformation 00:17:49.819 --> 00:17:53.799 is... Beyond just natural things, it's supernatural 00:17:53.799 --> 00:17:57.099 things. It's heavenly realities becoming real 00:17:57.099 --> 00:18:01.740 in the heart of man. Coming down to earth. That's 00:18:01.740 --> 00:18:04.920 the transformation God is offering. But listen, 00:18:05.160 --> 00:18:08.339 does it just happen because you want it to happen? 00:18:09.400 --> 00:18:15.200 How does this transformation take place? Who's 00:18:15.200 --> 00:18:19.799 with me? Who's tracking? It says, but be transformed. 00:18:20.599 --> 00:18:23.420 Because God is all -powerful. And God has a will 00:18:23.420 --> 00:18:26.759 that He wants to accomplish in your life. No. 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:32.940 It says, be transformed. How? By the renewing 00:18:32.940 --> 00:18:37.640 of your mind. Be transformed by the renewing 00:18:37.640 --> 00:18:40.319 of your mind. What does this mean? To escape 00:18:40.319 --> 00:18:43.259 the natural consequences of a sin -corrupted 00:18:43.259 --> 00:18:47.680 world? And to see God's transforming power change 00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:54.849 us? Into something brand new? It's up to us to 00:18:54.849 --> 00:19:00.390 renew our minds. It's up to us. We must renew 00:19:00.390 --> 00:19:03.910 our minds. We saw last week Romans 8, 6 says, 00:19:04.089 --> 00:19:07.809 For to be carnally minded, listen, is death. 00:19:08.369 --> 00:19:12.750 But to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 00:19:16.460 --> 00:19:20.220 This is the reality to you, to a renewed mind. 00:19:20.579 --> 00:19:24.259 If you're spiritually minded, it's a life in 00:19:24.259 --> 00:19:28.099 peace. It brings life to your body. It brings 00:19:28.099 --> 00:19:35.099 peace. This carnally means carnal flesh or the 00:19:35.099 --> 00:19:37.759 earth. It's merely of human origin or empowerment. 00:19:39.079 --> 00:19:46.549 But often in my life, I've thought of renewing 00:19:46.549 --> 00:19:50.430 your mind as simply just reading Scripture verses. 00:19:51.750 --> 00:19:53.670 How many of you have ever thought that before 00:19:53.670 --> 00:19:56.710 or think that? It's just like, oh, well, I've 00:19:56.710 --> 00:19:59.690 got to renew my mind to the Word of God, so if 00:19:59.690 --> 00:20:02.970 I'm in a tight spot or I'm in a circumstance 00:20:02.970 --> 00:20:06.049 or just when I feel like it, I'm going to open 00:20:06.049 --> 00:20:08.990 up the Bible and I'm going to read passages that 00:20:08.990 --> 00:20:12.259 specifically deal with my thing. And I'm just 00:20:12.259 --> 00:20:15.180 going to keep my eyes and read and read and reread 00:20:15.180 --> 00:20:18.480 and reread and reread. And the problem is you 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:21.259 do that and you don't experience the power of 00:20:21.259 --> 00:20:23.819 God. You don't see change in your circumstance. 00:20:24.019 --> 00:20:26.599 And that's what we're talking about today is 00:20:26.599 --> 00:20:30.180 to see the power of God. real in your life, to 00:20:30.180 --> 00:20:33.480 transform, to change the natural. And look, you 00:20:33.480 --> 00:20:35.960 can rehearse Scripture all day, you can teach 00:20:35.960 --> 00:20:38.859 a bird to repeat words after you, and it will 00:20:38.859 --> 00:20:41.720 not change the bird's life. It will not be free 00:20:41.720 --> 00:20:46.180 from the cage. Because the words are not the 00:20:46.180 --> 00:20:53.579 power. It's just information. It's always been 00:20:53.579 --> 00:20:58.079 a vehicle for the power. Now the Word, when we 00:20:58.079 --> 00:21:00.839 put our eyes on it, it builds faith within us. 00:21:01.319 --> 00:21:05.099 We see it. We understand it. It grows in us. 00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:15.680 But we need the Word to transform us into His 00:21:15.680 --> 00:21:21.299 image, into His likeness. Change, make our earth 00:21:21.299 --> 00:21:24.299 and our present circumstance look like heaven. 00:21:29.960 --> 00:21:31.980 So we've been talking about what does it mean 00:21:31.980 --> 00:21:37.140 to renew our minds. Because as these verses taught 00:21:37.140 --> 00:21:40.839 us, what you set your mind on, listen, determines 00:21:40.839 --> 00:21:47.539 your experience in this life. So we can say it 00:21:47.539 --> 00:21:50.440 like this too. You can look at your experience 00:21:50.440 --> 00:21:56.940 as an indicator for what your mind is set on. 00:22:03.079 --> 00:22:07.759 When we finish this verse, listen. Listen to 00:22:07.759 --> 00:22:10.359 what it says. So do not be conformed to this 00:22:10.359 --> 00:22:12.420 world. Be transformed by the renewing of your 00:22:12.420 --> 00:22:15.740 mind. Listen, that you may prove what is that 00:22:15.740 --> 00:22:19.980 good and acceptable and perfect will of God. 00:22:23.140 --> 00:22:25.519 Did you know that the will of God is not just 00:22:25.519 --> 00:22:29.750 one? It's like He has a perfect will. You can 00:22:29.750 --> 00:22:32.009 live in His perfect will. That's the will that 00:22:32.009 --> 00:22:34.650 He projects from Scripture. That's His plans, 00:22:34.690 --> 00:22:39.450 His purposes that He shows you. But He knows 00:22:39.450 --> 00:22:41.769 that, hey, there's things, you know, we're going 00:22:41.769 --> 00:22:43.809 to mess up. We live in a fallen world. Things 00:22:43.809 --> 00:22:46.289 are going to happen. And you can live in God's 00:22:46.289 --> 00:22:50.309 acceptable will. You can live in His good will. 00:22:51.390 --> 00:22:54.210 For instance, a good example of this would be 00:22:54.210 --> 00:22:58.819 the Israelites. God's perfect will was for them 00:22:58.819 --> 00:23:03.339 to be without a human king. Right? That's what 00:23:03.339 --> 00:23:06.059 he told them. That's what his desire was. Oh, 00:23:06.099 --> 00:23:08.440 I desire for you not to have a king, for me to 00:23:08.440 --> 00:23:11.940 be your king and your leader. And what did they 00:23:11.940 --> 00:23:16.380 do? They chose. They said, no, we don't want 00:23:16.380 --> 00:23:20.359 that. We don't want that. Give us a human king 00:23:20.359 --> 00:23:27.829 like all the other people of the world. I want 00:23:27.829 --> 00:23:32.109 it to look like them. I don't want it to be what 00:23:32.109 --> 00:23:35.250 you look like. And God honors their decision. 00:23:36.130 --> 00:23:43.769 And he gives them Saul. Saul accomplished a lot 00:23:43.769 --> 00:23:47.269 of great things when he was operating in God's 00:23:47.269 --> 00:23:49.750 will. But was that God's perfect will for his 00:23:49.750 --> 00:23:54.230 people? No. Everybody say no. It wasn't his perfect 00:23:54.230 --> 00:24:01.970 will. And listen, when you think about it, they 00:24:01.970 --> 00:24:06.670 faced a lot of unnecessary problems and circumstances 00:24:06.670 --> 00:24:11.170 due to their decision. Not because God wanted 00:24:11.170 --> 00:24:13.569 them to go through it. That wasn't His desire. 00:24:13.650 --> 00:24:15.849 That wasn't His will. But because they chose, 00:24:16.210 --> 00:24:23.490 they lived in a good will instead of the perfect 00:24:23.490 --> 00:24:30.059 will. And that road was tough. Kept leading to 00:24:30.059 --> 00:24:32.940 more and more tough circumstances. But God was 00:24:32.940 --> 00:24:35.859 always there. He always saw them through. And 00:24:35.859 --> 00:24:38.460 no matter what decision happened, He was always 00:24:38.460 --> 00:24:40.980 directing them, leading them back. And if they 00:24:40.980 --> 00:24:45.539 would just set their focus, if they would just 00:24:45.539 --> 00:24:49.019 keep their attention on what He showed them, 00:24:49.059 --> 00:24:52.710 listen, they could always enter back in. They 00:24:52.710 --> 00:24:55.549 could always go back towards him, run towards 00:24:55.549 --> 00:24:58.250 him, and God opened his arms, poured out his 00:24:58.250 --> 00:25:05.490 blessing on them. Years of peace, plenty, provision. 00:25:07.369 --> 00:25:09.789 Soon as they got their eyes off of him, though, 00:25:09.869 --> 00:25:13.369 they would step out from his perfect will. They 00:25:13.369 --> 00:25:15.630 would just wander around. Now, there was still 00:25:15.630 --> 00:25:18.140 some good things that happened, right? Manna 00:25:18.140 --> 00:25:20.920 would still come. The quail would be on the ground. 00:25:21.160 --> 00:25:23.779 There's all these good blessings from God. But 00:25:23.779 --> 00:25:29.619 they could have had so much more. God wants so 00:25:29.619 --> 00:25:36.839 much more for you. Your experience in this life 00:25:36.839 --> 00:25:40.680 then proves if your mind is on the good, on the 00:25:40.680 --> 00:25:43.200 acceptable, in the perfect will of God. This 00:25:43.200 --> 00:25:47.609 is the way it works for us. We can limit. our 00:25:47.609 --> 00:25:51.529 experience of heaven if we just say, if we limit 00:25:51.529 --> 00:25:54.390 God to just perform certain things in our life. 00:25:56.549 --> 00:25:59.150 The lady with the issue of blood, for instance, 00:25:59.410 --> 00:26:03.309 right? She built with her words the limitations 00:26:03.309 --> 00:26:06.829 on how God was going to heal her when his perfect 00:26:06.829 --> 00:26:13.829 will for her was for her never to be sick. His 00:26:13.829 --> 00:26:16.190 perfect will for each one of us is to not face 00:26:16.190 --> 00:26:18.690 the difficulty and the sin and all those things. 00:26:20.009 --> 00:26:25.589 That's his perfect will. But she built with her 00:26:25.589 --> 00:26:28.670 words. She said, if I touch the hem of his garment, 00:26:28.789 --> 00:26:31.730 I will. be healed. She heard that he was the 00:26:31.730 --> 00:26:34.470 Messiah, and listen, what happened? She built 00:26:34.470 --> 00:26:37.230 that up in her, that faith began to grow, and 00:26:37.230 --> 00:26:40.029 as soon as she performed the action, she received 00:26:40.029 --> 00:26:43.769 the transforming power of God to restore, to 00:26:43.769 --> 00:26:52.150 make her whole. So the question is, and what 00:26:52.150 --> 00:26:56.990 all of us need to know then, is how do we renew 00:26:56.990 --> 00:27:02.799 our minds? How do we renew our minds? As we learned 00:27:02.799 --> 00:27:06.000 last week, one of the key contributors to renewing 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:10.859 our mind is focus. We must focus. Colossians 00:27:10.859 --> 00:27:14.759 3, 1 -2 says this, If then you were raised with 00:27:14.759 --> 00:27:19.279 Christ, seek, everybody say focus, focus those 00:27:19.279 --> 00:27:23.480 things which are above where Christ is, sitting 00:27:23.480 --> 00:27:26.420 at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things 00:27:26.420 --> 00:27:31.059 above, not on. things of earth. We have to set 00:27:31.059 --> 00:27:35.420 our minds. We focus and then we set our minds. 00:27:36.220 --> 00:27:40.599 Seeing ourselves above, right? Not the things 00:27:40.599 --> 00:27:43.099 of earth, not experiencing the things of earth. 00:27:43.160 --> 00:27:46.180 We set our minds on heavenly realities and we 00:27:46.180 --> 00:27:49.720 refuse to focus on any thought. As we learned 00:27:49.720 --> 00:27:53.609 last week, we must refuse. Just because thoughts 00:27:53.609 --> 00:27:56.230 fly around, we don't let them make a nest in 00:27:56.230 --> 00:27:58.450 our hair. You know, just birds, we don't let 00:27:58.450 --> 00:28:02.069 it make a nest in our hair, we said. Just because 00:28:02.069 --> 00:28:04.950 you think a thought doesn't mean that, you know, 00:28:04.970 --> 00:28:07.490 you got to meditate on it. You got to stay stuck 00:28:07.490 --> 00:28:11.009 with it. Spiral. Let it ruin your whole evening. 00:28:12.210 --> 00:28:15.009 Because some thought hits you that you weren't 00:28:15.009 --> 00:28:20.049 expecting. We have to focus. Not on the temporal 00:28:20.049 --> 00:28:24.259 condition. We have to focus on who God is. We 00:28:24.259 --> 00:28:27.200 have to keep our focus on our position in Him 00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:32.140 and what we have in Christ. And what you focus 00:28:32.140 --> 00:28:38.880 on, what your focus is directed at, helps you 00:28:38.880 --> 00:28:42.799 see clearer. It helps you see. So you focus to 00:28:42.799 --> 00:28:47.000 get a clear image, right? Like the other day, 00:28:47.180 --> 00:28:50.680 I can't remember what day it was. A couple weeks 00:28:50.680 --> 00:28:52.740 ago, we were driving back from Myrtle Beach. 00:28:53.000 --> 00:28:56.420 My wife and I, we were up there visiting her 00:28:56.420 --> 00:28:59.960 dad and grandparents. And, you know, it's late 00:28:59.960 --> 00:29:02.740 at night. We're talking about something that 00:29:02.740 --> 00:29:06.319 was serious, and we were talking about it way 00:29:06.319 --> 00:29:10.900 too seriously. And as we're driving, all of a 00:29:10.900 --> 00:29:13.900 sudden, like, I miss, I was on the toll road 00:29:13.900 --> 00:29:18.799 of 429. I was supposed to turn on 192. And we're 00:29:18.799 --> 00:29:21.640 talking and I'm driving and I'm focused on that. 00:29:22.400 --> 00:29:26.359 And I just blow right past the exit. And if you've 00:29:26.359 --> 00:29:28.220 ever been on that road, like you got to drive 00:29:28.220 --> 00:29:30.779 to the next place to turn around to get back, 00:29:30.839 --> 00:29:32.460 you know, and I'm just like, I'm sitting there 00:29:32.460 --> 00:29:35.279 and I'm just driving. I passed it even. And I 00:29:35.279 --> 00:29:37.660 was like, oh, and we're just talking and I'm 00:29:37.660 --> 00:29:41.279 just focused on what we're talking about. And 00:29:41.279 --> 00:29:44.039 I just completely didn't see what was happening. 00:29:44.539 --> 00:29:47.319 And here I am blazing past and Caitlin goes. 00:29:47.980 --> 00:29:49.839 Don't you think that was where we were supposed 00:29:49.839 --> 00:29:55.240 to turn? What are we supposed to turn back? Yeah, 00:29:55.319 --> 00:30:00.299 yeah. What you focus on is what you're going 00:30:00.299 --> 00:30:04.200 to be attentive to. What you focus on is magnified 00:30:04.200 --> 00:30:07.660 to you and grabs your attention because you're 00:30:07.660 --> 00:30:11.299 seeking it. You're not just looking and something's 00:30:11.299 --> 00:30:13.059 hitting you in the face, you know, even though 00:30:13.059 --> 00:30:15.279 there was a giant sign telling me to turn off 00:30:15.279 --> 00:30:17.740 the road, right? But I wasn't paying attention 00:30:17.740 --> 00:30:21.539 to it. I wasn't focusing on it. And that's why 00:30:21.539 --> 00:30:25.579 I didn't see it. And that's why it's important. 00:30:25.759 --> 00:30:31.119 Listen, we have to focus our imagination. We 00:30:31.119 --> 00:30:34.859 have to focus our minds. We have to focus on 00:30:34.859 --> 00:30:39.099 what we see because that's a key contributor 00:30:39.099 --> 00:30:42.500 to renewing your mind. It's not just focusing, 00:30:42.519 --> 00:30:44.839 but we need to know what we are focusing on. 00:30:46.960 --> 00:30:49.339 I can't just drive down the highway looking at 00:30:49.339 --> 00:30:53.259 every sign. But I've got to know. I've got to 00:30:53.259 --> 00:30:55.980 have a vision of me turning off in the right 00:30:55.980 --> 00:30:57.619 place. And I'm going to be like, oh, I'm getting 00:30:57.619 --> 00:31:00.539 close. So I need to pay attention to the road 00:31:00.539 --> 00:31:04.180 signs. Right? I need to pay attention to them. 00:31:05.779 --> 00:31:10.740 So, imagination. What am I describing that as? 00:31:10.960 --> 00:31:14.119 I believe God's Word reveals that it's a God 00:31:14.119 --> 00:31:17.349 -given. creative ability to mentally picture 00:31:17.349 --> 00:31:21.990 something. It's God -given. That means that when 00:31:21.990 --> 00:31:25.289 he created us, he gave each one of us this ability, 00:31:25.529 --> 00:31:31.630 this ability to see with our mind's eye. That's 00:31:31.630 --> 00:31:35.170 why everyone can operate in this, in these principles, 00:31:35.509 --> 00:31:40.589 because that's how he created us, okay? And there's 00:31:40.589 --> 00:31:42.690 four image sources. Everybody say, four image 00:31:42.690 --> 00:31:49.250 sources. There's four image sources. In a peer 00:31:49.250 --> 00:31:52.349 -reviewed, credited couple of articles that I 00:31:52.349 --> 00:31:56.069 read, I combined these thoughts into one sentence 00:31:56.069 --> 00:31:58.730 that just communicates their message, and it 00:31:58.730 --> 00:32:01.829 says this. The mind converts external signals 00:32:01.829 --> 00:32:05.609 from the eyes into visual information, which 00:32:05.609 --> 00:32:10.789 forms our perception. Okay? So we see things. 00:32:11.600 --> 00:32:14.259 And it comes through our minds, comes through 00:32:14.259 --> 00:32:16.880 our eyes, and then we receive it in our minds, 00:32:17.000 --> 00:32:19.440 right? That's how we experience the world around 00:32:19.440 --> 00:32:21.859 us. That's how we perceive the natural world. 00:32:22.299 --> 00:32:26.839 But it can also create similar neural image patterns 00:32:26.839 --> 00:32:33.299 without any external input. And it's interesting 00:32:33.299 --> 00:32:35.920 that in the article, it was trying to say that, 00:32:35.920 --> 00:32:40.259 like, Our perception, our mind views like the 00:32:40.259 --> 00:32:43.140 natural world and the things that we create in 00:32:43.140 --> 00:32:45.839 our minds, it views it and it experiences it 00:32:45.839 --> 00:32:49.079 in the same way. Think about like when you dream 00:32:49.079 --> 00:32:52.200 at night, it feels real. It impacts your body. 00:32:52.420 --> 00:32:54.660 If you have like a nightmare or something, all 00:32:54.660 --> 00:32:57.740 of a sudden you wake up, I'm sweated wet. You 00:32:57.740 --> 00:33:00.220 know, I'm like breathing heavy, like I've done 00:33:00.220 --> 00:33:04.950 something, right? Our mind is that powerful. 00:33:05.069 --> 00:33:07.670 It doesn't know the difference between the physical 00:33:07.670 --> 00:33:14.869 world and this created world of your mind. It 00:33:14.869 --> 00:33:20.890 experiences it the same way. This says that you 00:33:20.890 --> 00:33:23.509 can see images with your eyes, but you can also 00:33:23.509 --> 00:33:27.329 create images with your mind. You can create 00:33:27.329 --> 00:33:29.950 an image with your mind. It's our ability to 00:33:29.950 --> 00:33:32.960 create. This is how God created things. Remember, 00:33:33.200 --> 00:33:35.900 he wasn't looking at this perfect created world 00:33:35.900 --> 00:33:38.140 and building things together. No, what he was 00:33:38.140 --> 00:33:41.500 looking at was formless and void. Where did all 00:33:41.500 --> 00:33:48.359 this exist? In the mind of God. And when he acted 00:33:48.359 --> 00:33:55.079 upon that vision of what he saw, boom, it came 00:33:55.079 --> 00:34:04.980 to be. He saw light, then there was light. You 00:34:04.980 --> 00:34:06.960 can see images with your eyes. You can create 00:34:06.960 --> 00:34:09.860 images with your mind. One thing that these articles 00:34:09.860 --> 00:34:12.659 left out is that there's two more image sources 00:34:12.659 --> 00:34:16.719 because the Word teaches us that images can also 00:34:16.719 --> 00:34:20.739 be received through the Spirit, by Satan, and 00:34:20.739 --> 00:34:25.619 God. Satan and God can reveal images in your 00:34:25.619 --> 00:34:29.820 mind to you. So why is imagination important? 00:34:30.239 --> 00:34:34.409 Everybody ask why. Why? Why is this so important? 00:34:35.690 --> 00:34:37.570 Back to what we've been talking about, because 00:34:37.570 --> 00:34:43.789 what you focus on is the direction you move towards. 00:34:45.389 --> 00:34:50.010 What you focus on in this life is the direction 00:34:50.010 --> 00:34:55.170 your life will move towards. I'm not the first 00:34:55.170 --> 00:34:58.110 person to say this. There's many... motivational 00:34:58.110 --> 00:35:00.489 speakers that talk about this all the time because, 00:35:00.590 --> 00:35:03.090 listen, this is a God -given creative ability 00:35:03.090 --> 00:35:06.989 of man that we all have. Each one of us has. 00:35:07.170 --> 00:35:10.630 If you focus your direction, focus your mind 00:35:10.630 --> 00:35:13.909 on your goals, your achievements, those things, 00:35:14.030 --> 00:35:17.789 you can move towards that direction. You see 00:35:17.789 --> 00:35:20.590 a child wanting to be, oh, I want to be a veterinarian 00:35:20.590 --> 00:35:24.230 one day, right? And from that moment, even a 00:35:24.230 --> 00:35:27.219 little child will start. cultivating things about 00:35:27.219 --> 00:35:29.460 being a veterinarian. They're seeing themselves. 00:35:29.579 --> 00:35:33.239 They'll buy toys directed that way, right? They'll 00:35:33.239 --> 00:35:37.079 do little mock shows. They're experiencing something 00:35:37.079 --> 00:35:39.900 before it ever happens. They're moving their 00:35:39.900 --> 00:35:42.679 life towards a direction from what they envision 00:35:42.679 --> 00:35:45.420 their life should be or what they want it to 00:35:45.420 --> 00:35:49.880 be from their desire. Because the image you focus 00:35:49.880 --> 00:35:54.590 on, you just, you move towards it. Creates momentum 00:35:54.590 --> 00:36:00.190 and direction in your life. So it's important 00:36:00.190 --> 00:36:05.010 to know and to distinguish where's the image 00:36:05.010 --> 00:36:08.409 coming from that we should focus on, right? Where 00:36:08.409 --> 00:36:11.610 is it coming from? Because that moves you towards 00:36:11.610 --> 00:36:14.550 it. So let's look now at some examples in the 00:36:14.550 --> 00:36:20.269 Word that show us different things about what 00:36:20.269 --> 00:36:23.739 we see and how we react to them. and how God's 00:36:23.739 --> 00:36:29.719 people did. In Numbers, we see that we know from 00:36:29.719 --> 00:36:32.679 Scripture, I don't have time to read the whole 00:36:32.679 --> 00:36:35.219 thing, but God leads his people out of captivity. 00:36:35.900 --> 00:36:39.119 He gives them a vision of, you know, the promised 00:36:39.119 --> 00:36:44.519 land, a land flowing with milk and honey. Remember 00:36:44.519 --> 00:36:47.630 how many times he's showing them this? Remember 00:36:47.630 --> 00:36:50.849 how many times he's giving them a mental image 00:36:50.849 --> 00:36:53.710 of where he wants to take them, where his perfect 00:36:53.710 --> 00:36:58.070 will was for them? It was a land. It was a place. 00:37:00.250 --> 00:37:03.210 It was in their perfect will. It was in God's 00:37:03.210 --> 00:37:06.570 perfect will for them. And when they get there, 00:37:06.809 --> 00:37:09.929 it took them way too long, but when they finally 00:37:09.929 --> 00:37:12.250 get to the edge, everybody look this way, it's 00:37:12.250 --> 00:37:16.329 okay. When they finally get to the edge, Of walking 00:37:16.329 --> 00:37:20.510 in and stepping in to the promise, to the thing 00:37:20.510 --> 00:37:28.550 that God showed them was theirs. Things that 00:37:28.550 --> 00:37:34.849 God had already made available to them. They 00:37:34.849 --> 00:37:40.809 questioned it. They questioned it. Instead of 00:37:40.809 --> 00:37:43.010 just entering in, doing what God said, what'd 00:37:43.010 --> 00:37:45.070 they do? They waited back. They built camp right 00:37:45.070 --> 00:37:48.250 outside and they said, let's send spies in. Check 00:37:48.250 --> 00:37:57.289 it out first. Oh, God help us. We do this in 00:37:57.289 --> 00:38:01.590 our own lives all the time, you know. We get 00:38:01.590 --> 00:38:05.750 to the border of the transformation, the power 00:38:05.750 --> 00:38:08.590 of God, and we just stop and we say, now, what? 00:38:08.960 --> 00:38:15.000 Did God really say that? Is that really true? 00:38:20.699 --> 00:38:22.980 And so we want to go back in and question it. 00:38:23.000 --> 00:38:24.739 And it's funny because that's the thing that 00:38:24.739 --> 00:38:28.219 we've been praying for. That's the thing that 00:38:28.219 --> 00:38:29.920 we've been believing God for. And then all of 00:38:29.920 --> 00:38:31.820 a sudden we get to it and we go, I don't know, 00:38:31.820 --> 00:38:37.519 God. It seems a little too good. I don't know. 00:38:37.980 --> 00:38:44.659 I don't know if I deserve this. Seems too much. 00:38:45.639 --> 00:38:48.699 Or it seems unachievable. All of a sudden it's 00:38:48.699 --> 00:38:51.119 like God had led them all the way there, but 00:38:51.119 --> 00:38:54.280 then now it's their responsibility to take the 00:38:54.280 --> 00:38:59.199 land? Makes no sense, right? But they get to 00:38:59.199 --> 00:39:02.380 the border of it. They're waiting out. They send 00:39:02.380 --> 00:39:06.019 spies into the land. You know, the spies that 00:39:06.019 --> 00:39:10.480 come back. Some of them give a good report, but 00:39:10.480 --> 00:39:13.500 I want us to see this. Because this is the report 00:39:13.500 --> 00:39:19.099 that they focused on. The land we traveled through 00:39:19.099 --> 00:39:23.500 and explored will devour anyone who goes to live 00:39:23.500 --> 00:39:31.139 there. All the people we saw were huge. Massive. 00:39:34.860 --> 00:39:39.579 We even saw giants there. Isn't that how you 00:39:39.579 --> 00:39:44.679 describe big people? They really wanted to emphasize 00:39:44.679 --> 00:39:49.639 it. I mean, these people were giants. Descendants 00:39:49.639 --> 00:39:57.860 of Anak. Next to them, listen, we felt. Next 00:39:57.860 --> 00:40:04.099 to them, we felt like grasshoppers. And that's 00:40:04.099 --> 00:40:08.670 what they thought too. So now they knew what 00:40:08.670 --> 00:40:12.809 the giants thought. They've made up this whole 00:40:12.809 --> 00:40:18.389 thing. I want you to notice here. Notice that 00:40:18.389 --> 00:40:22.710 my computer's freaking out. Get away. Notice 00:40:22.710 --> 00:40:29.550 the image of defeat. They had already lost before 00:40:29.550 --> 00:40:34.250 they ever walked in. Was that what God wanted? 00:40:34.570 --> 00:40:39.320 Was that his perfect will? But what they looked 00:40:39.320 --> 00:40:43.920 at, they said, we can't have. We will surely 00:40:43.920 --> 00:40:51.539 die. No future, no hope, no promise. We will 00:40:51.539 --> 00:40:54.559 die. They will devour us. And the feelings that 00:40:54.559 --> 00:40:59.460 set in, anxiety. I don't think we should. I don't 00:40:59.460 --> 00:41:02.699 know, you know, that uneasiness, that dividedness 00:41:02.699 --> 00:41:08.599 within them, fear. Why? Because they're looking 00:41:08.599 --> 00:41:11.139 at a picture. They're looking at their natural 00:41:11.139 --> 00:41:14.400 surroundings through the eyes of their own understanding. 00:41:17.440 --> 00:41:21.840 They see their inadequacy to take the land. And 00:41:21.840 --> 00:41:24.800 they believe that image. Over the image, God 00:41:24.800 --> 00:41:28.699 said that this is your land. They could have 00:41:28.699 --> 00:41:30.980 looked at it and said, those giants are on your 00:41:30.980 --> 00:41:36.280 land. God gave it to me so I can take it. And 00:41:36.280 --> 00:41:40.280 that's what some of the spies said, right? But 00:41:40.280 --> 00:41:43.960 the Israelites focused on their ability, their 00:41:43.960 --> 00:41:48.039 effort. It's kind of like when we focus on religion 00:41:48.039 --> 00:41:54.840 and our effort to achieve salvation. Same thing. 00:41:56.880 --> 00:41:59.380 And what did they do? They created this fantasy. 00:42:00.920 --> 00:42:05.440 Created this fantasy. They see us as grasshoppers 00:42:05.440 --> 00:42:13.099 and they look at us as grasshoppers. I want you 00:42:13.099 --> 00:42:15.019 to notice something. There's a difference between 00:42:15.019 --> 00:42:23.940 what is real and the truth. Things can be real. 00:42:24.460 --> 00:42:27.860 These were real possibilities, real giants, real 00:42:27.860 --> 00:42:31.199 obstacles. And everything that they said was 00:42:31.199 --> 00:42:35.000 a real possibility of what could happen. And 00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:36.960 I guarantee you, if they would have entered in 00:42:36.960 --> 00:42:43.300 and not seen, not looked at what their eyes, 00:42:43.460 --> 00:42:45.559 you know, if they would have entered in just 00:42:45.559 --> 00:42:50.039 filled with fear, with doubt, with worry, guess 00:42:50.039 --> 00:42:52.159 what? Them giants would have taken them out. 00:42:54.760 --> 00:42:57.360 You will have exactly what you think. You will 00:42:57.360 --> 00:43:00.889 have... What your mind is pictured on. That will 00:43:00.889 --> 00:43:05.710 be your reality. It was real possibilities that 00:43:05.710 --> 00:43:09.329 they were looking at. It wasn't made up. But 00:43:09.329 --> 00:43:14.250 it was void of the truth of God's Word. And that's 00:43:14.250 --> 00:43:16.550 the difference between what is real and what 00:43:16.550 --> 00:43:20.449 is true. Because there's only one truth. There's 00:43:20.449 --> 00:43:39.710 only one way. This reveals that if your focus 00:43:39.710 --> 00:43:44.010 is on just the natural, every negative circumstance, 00:43:44.230 --> 00:43:47.809 you will only imagine a future following natural 00:43:47.809 --> 00:43:52.230 results and progressions. Their mind was not 00:43:52.230 --> 00:43:54.449 thinking that God would see them through. Their 00:43:54.449 --> 00:43:57.210 mind was thinking that God has taken us this 00:43:57.210 --> 00:44:00.510 far and has left us in the desert, and now he 00:44:00.510 --> 00:44:02.449 led us out of Egypt. I should have been better 00:44:02.449 --> 00:44:06.230 at Egypt. Where they had spices and stuff. My 00:44:06.230 --> 00:44:08.309 life would have been better in captivity than 00:44:08.309 --> 00:44:14.050 it is in God's promise. And their life was just 00:44:14.050 --> 00:44:17.630 going to be what it always, you know, what anyone 00:44:17.630 --> 00:44:19.789 else would view it to be. That they wouldn't 00:44:19.789 --> 00:44:22.230 have the victory. That they would be defeated. 00:44:22.329 --> 00:44:26.250 They would be devoured. And listen, just like 00:44:26.250 --> 00:44:28.429 it kept the Israelites out of the promised land. 00:44:28.960 --> 00:44:31.980 this type of thinking, focusing on the natural, 00:44:32.159 --> 00:44:35.239 seeing the natural as your reality, it will keep 00:44:35.239 --> 00:44:42.619 you out of God's perfect will. It'll keep you 00:44:42.619 --> 00:44:48.880 from the place of promise He has for you. God's 00:44:48.880 --> 00:44:57.159 not holding out on you. It's not up to God. You 00:44:57.159 --> 00:45:01.519 have to choose. Am I going to believe the image 00:45:01.519 --> 00:45:05.420 and the promise of God and I'm going to move 00:45:05.420 --> 00:45:08.139 on that, move in that direction? Or am I going 00:45:08.139 --> 00:45:11.800 to believe my own imagination, my own what's 00:45:11.800 --> 00:45:14.599 made up in my head of my earthly experience and 00:45:14.599 --> 00:45:16.820 the world around me and I'm going to let that 00:45:16.820 --> 00:45:22.840 lead me and determine my decisions? Because listen, 00:45:22.920 --> 00:45:25.920 you are either moving in God's will or away from 00:45:25.920 --> 00:45:36.539 God's will. There's no neutral ground. Now, another 00:45:36.539 --> 00:45:40.099 source, like I said, was Satan. Satan can give 00:45:40.099 --> 00:45:45.099 us images in our minds, and he uses truth. Now, 00:45:45.119 --> 00:45:47.300 this is a lot different than like our natural 00:45:47.300 --> 00:45:50.679 just imaginations of how we think the world is 00:45:50.679 --> 00:45:53.280 going to work. He likes to be a little bit more 00:45:53.280 --> 00:45:59.679 suspicious and sneaky. Because if you don't know 00:45:59.679 --> 00:46:08.000 the truth, you can't spot the lie. So he likes 00:46:08.000 --> 00:46:13.800 to use and manipulate good things, good moral 00:46:13.800 --> 00:46:18.300 things that sound good, that feel right. I think 00:46:18.300 --> 00:46:20.579 this, you know, and God, he likes to use godly 00:46:20.579 --> 00:46:23.480 things. It's like he protects good, right, beneficial. 00:46:23.500 --> 00:46:26.219 Oh, well, it's beneficial for my life, for my 00:46:26.219 --> 00:46:30.619 family, for my future, spiritual even. Oh, this 00:46:30.619 --> 00:46:35.230 seems right. I got a verse or something, you 00:46:35.230 --> 00:46:37.409 know, and I'm moving in that direction. Oh, this 00:46:37.409 --> 00:46:41.750 looks good. It feels good. It matches my desires 00:46:41.750 --> 00:46:53.150 of how I see what God has for me. He's the father 00:46:53.150 --> 00:46:58.250 of lies. He's the God of this world. He's constantly 00:46:58.250 --> 00:47:02.059 wanting to steal the truth. What is the truth? 00:47:02.179 --> 00:47:05.079 The truth is the image of a future probability 00:47:05.079 --> 00:47:09.420 that's based on God's perfect will. So if he 00:47:09.420 --> 00:47:12.900 can steal that from you, if he can say that that 00:47:12.900 --> 00:47:15.880 image is not for you, if he can say that, oh, 00:47:15.900 --> 00:47:22.639 he actually means it like this, he can steal 00:47:22.639 --> 00:47:26.880 the future from you. He manipulates the truth. 00:47:28.059 --> 00:47:31.889 Think about this. who was later named Paul, we've 00:47:31.889 --> 00:47:34.690 been looking at this in our life group, he truly 00:47:34.690 --> 00:47:38.909 thought, he was zealous even, spent his life 00:47:38.909 --> 00:47:43.409 following God's plans. He's like, I got this 00:47:43.409 --> 00:47:48.030 figured out. I know what I'm supposed to do. 00:47:48.889 --> 00:47:56.849 This seems right. Where did that come from? And 00:47:56.849 --> 00:47:59.360 this goes to show you that no... No matter how 00:47:59.360 --> 00:48:04.079 godly you think you're going in, the direction 00:48:04.079 --> 00:48:06.960 of it, no matter how much you feel, it's the 00:48:06.960 --> 00:48:14.019 right thing. If it's not God -given, it's not 00:48:14.019 --> 00:48:21.659 of Him. Saul, on the road to Damascus, he received 00:48:21.659 --> 00:48:24.940 this great revelation, and God goes, Saul, why 00:48:24.940 --> 00:48:30.389 are you persecuting me? Can you imagine what 00:48:30.389 --> 00:48:33.030 that was like when a person who had devoted his 00:48:33.030 --> 00:48:35.849 life to the things of God, to the works of God, 00:48:35.969 --> 00:48:38.469 to his religious system that he was born into, 00:48:38.690 --> 00:48:41.510 and he's like, I am so zealous, I'm the best 00:48:41.510 --> 00:48:47.349 at this thing. The Pharisee of Pharisees, right? 00:48:47.489 --> 00:48:50.349 He was the best, the most devoted, the most devout, 00:48:50.469 --> 00:48:53.909 accomplishing God's will, God's work in the earth. 00:48:55.150 --> 00:49:04.099 And God says, Why are you persecuting me? God 00:49:04.099 --> 00:49:11.719 is on earth. God's moving, doing all these things, 00:49:11.880 --> 00:49:15.679 and he's constantly against Jesus and those connected 00:49:15.679 --> 00:49:18.079 to Jesus, tracking people down, hunting them 00:49:18.079 --> 00:49:21.159 down, carrying the coats as they stoned Stephen. 00:49:23.539 --> 00:49:33.420 All in the name of God. It shows us that even 00:49:33.420 --> 00:49:35.980 things perceived to be good, godly endeavors, 00:49:36.360 --> 00:49:41.820 plans, goals, etc., if they are born from our 00:49:41.820 --> 00:49:44.340 own understanding, they are outside of God's 00:49:44.340 --> 00:49:50.559 perfect will. Now, the world looks at this in 00:49:50.559 --> 00:49:52.980 a little bit different ways because it says that, 00:49:53.079 --> 00:49:58.780 okay, well, I want to be... I want to be in a 00:49:58.780 --> 00:50:02.940 better health condition. I want a better situation. 00:50:04.719 --> 00:50:08.679 So they set their minds and they realize this 00:50:08.679 --> 00:50:13.179 because that's a God -given ability that everyone 00:50:13.179 --> 00:50:15.920 shares, right? It's like people realize this. 00:50:15.980 --> 00:50:20.070 I can do my vision. for the year, for the five 00:50:20.070 --> 00:50:22.530 years, for the ten years, and I have these plans, 00:50:22.670 --> 00:50:25.429 and this is good for my future, for my family, 00:50:25.489 --> 00:50:30.150 for my everything. And they can be good things. 00:50:30.829 --> 00:50:33.510 They can move you towards really good things 00:50:33.510 --> 00:50:36.989 and good outcomes. Listen, because that's the 00:50:36.989 --> 00:50:41.769 way God designed it. But there's only one perfect 00:50:41.769 --> 00:50:48.380 will of God. And unless you're seeking Him, and 00:50:48.380 --> 00:50:51.880 allowing Him to determine your future and your 00:50:51.880 --> 00:50:55.780 direction, listen, you'll experience less than 00:50:55.780 --> 00:51:00.440 what He wants for you. You might experience some 00:51:00.440 --> 00:51:07.139 good things. Why? Maybe because you're in Christ 00:51:07.139 --> 00:51:09.380 and there's things promised to you that are good. 00:51:09.699 --> 00:51:13.139 His blessing, favor, all these things. You can 00:51:13.139 --> 00:51:17.659 experience those things. And you might just think, 00:51:17.719 --> 00:51:26.159 I'm good. But you can be so wrong, and God has 00:51:26.159 --> 00:51:33.179 so much better. Proverbs 3, 5, and 6, just, man, 00:51:33.380 --> 00:51:40.300 I always, I just always come back to this. Trust 00:51:40.300 --> 00:51:46.199 in the Lord with all your heart. Often this word 00:51:46.199 --> 00:51:51.219 heart means your mind. It's your sphere of existence. 00:51:51.659 --> 00:51:54.380 It's talking about your beliefs, your mind, your 00:51:54.380 --> 00:51:58.920 will, your soul in that sense. It says do not 00:51:58.920 --> 00:52:04.960 depend on your own understanding. Do not live 00:52:04.960 --> 00:52:08.440 by your own understanding. Get this, seek His 00:52:08.440 --> 00:52:17.199 will. Just in spiritual things? Seek his will. 00:52:19.300 --> 00:52:22.320 Just for the spiritual direction of your life? 00:52:28.559 --> 00:52:38.340 Seek his will just on Sunday morning. Seek his 00:52:38.340 --> 00:52:43.250 will in all you do, in everything. Seek His will. 00:52:45.449 --> 00:52:55.929 And He will what? Show you. And my friends, you 00:52:55.929 --> 00:53:03.929 have to seek in order to see. Don't move unless 00:53:03.929 --> 00:53:10.429 you see. Don't step ahead in your own understanding. 00:53:12.360 --> 00:53:18.599 Come on. We must seek His will. Be Spirit -led 00:53:18.599 --> 00:53:26.400 people in everything, in every arena. We have 00:53:26.400 --> 00:53:31.940 to, must to, seek His will. It can't just be 00:53:31.940 --> 00:53:35.079 what we think His will is. It has to be His will. 00:53:35.300 --> 00:53:40.340 Because He shows you which path to take. He shows 00:53:40.340 --> 00:53:45.349 it to you. He reveals it to you. The things, 00:53:45.369 --> 00:53:48.130 like we saw last week, the Holy Spirit takes 00:53:48.130 --> 00:53:51.349 the things of God and declares them to you. He 00:53:51.349 --> 00:53:55.190 makes them known to you, right? Because listen, 00:53:55.329 --> 00:53:58.110 you do not want your life to mirror the image 00:53:58.110 --> 00:54:06.530 your mind creates. You don't want that. My mind 00:54:06.530 --> 00:54:10.269 changes. From day to day, I'll move and I'll 00:54:10.269 --> 00:54:15.849 waver and I get tossed and turned. My mind creates 00:54:15.849 --> 00:54:19.130 all these negative possibilities and things that 00:54:19.130 --> 00:54:21.849 could happen. Should they be? Should they not 00:54:21.849 --> 00:54:26.210 be? Listen, you don't want your life to mirror 00:54:26.210 --> 00:54:33.989 the image your mind creates. Your focus and our 00:54:33.989 --> 00:54:38.300 focus. Today and from this day forward, listen, 00:54:38.400 --> 00:54:42.460 must be a God -given revealed image. That's the 00:54:42.460 --> 00:54:45.059 only way we're going to walk in the God -given 00:54:45.059 --> 00:54:48.539 divine plan and experience the divine transformation. 00:54:53.840 --> 00:55:01.469 It's available. 1 Corinthians 2 .9 It says, no 00:55:01.469 --> 00:55:04.570 eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has 00:55:04.570 --> 00:55:08.269 imagined what God has prepared for those who 00:55:08.269 --> 00:55:17.250 love Him. The plans He has for you are so much 00:55:17.250 --> 00:55:19.309 greater than the plans you have for yourself. 00:55:20.449 --> 00:55:23.210 He wants so much more for you. It's more than 00:55:23.210 --> 00:55:25.710 your mind can imagine, and I can imagine a lot. 00:55:27.769 --> 00:55:31.210 It's more than I've ever heard. Of someone else's 00:55:31.210 --> 00:55:38.389 experience. It's more than I've ever seen. The 00:55:38.389 --> 00:55:47.230 plans. The places. For those who love him. He's 00:55:47.230 --> 00:55:51.309 got it all figured out. He's got it figured out. 00:55:51.429 --> 00:55:54.329 But we have to be spirit led. People of God. 00:55:56.210 --> 00:55:59.769 And I'm almost done. God's word. Listen. is not 00:55:59.769 --> 00:56:03.230 only for you to hear and read, it is for you 00:56:03.230 --> 00:56:09.809 to see and act on. We must see His Word. That's 00:56:09.809 --> 00:56:12.710 why there's so much imagery in the Word of God. 00:56:13.409 --> 00:56:17.750 See yourself in Him. See yourself seated with 00:56:17.750 --> 00:56:25.550 Him in heavenly places. See your life. You have 00:56:25.550 --> 00:56:29.389 to see it. Not from the circumstance or the situation. 00:56:29.750 --> 00:56:32.869 You have to see it as God's words already completed. 00:56:33.730 --> 00:56:40.650 God's work is already finished. You have to see 00:56:40.650 --> 00:56:47.349 it. Think about Joseph. God's the revealer of 00:56:47.349 --> 00:56:51.530 visions and dreams, right? He gave him a direction 00:56:51.530 --> 00:56:53.510 from an early age saying, you're going to be 00:56:53.510 --> 00:56:58.070 a king. The hay bales bowing down, the whole 00:56:58.070 --> 00:57:01.730 universe bowing down to him at a young age. David, 00:57:01.730 --> 00:57:07.429 it's like, you're going to be the king. A future, 00:57:07.510 --> 00:57:17.530 plan, purpose. And they had to stay focused on 00:57:17.530 --> 00:57:22.250 that. But I tell you what, as soon as that happened, 00:57:22.309 --> 00:57:24.550 the enemy was trying to rob him of that. Everything 00:57:24.550 --> 00:57:27.170 that could happen, the people they were involved 00:57:27.170 --> 00:57:30.869 around, all those things. Satan was using all 00:57:30.869 --> 00:57:34.190 those things to keep both of them from being 00:57:34.190 --> 00:57:37.909 in the promise to getting to the future that 00:57:37.909 --> 00:57:40.989 God had for them. But the gates of hell cannot 00:57:40.989 --> 00:57:45.190 stand against. Those who hear the word of God 00:57:45.190 --> 00:57:48.590 renew their minds and open their door for God's 00:57:48.590 --> 00:57:51.809 power to transform their natural temporal world. 00:57:57.690 --> 00:58:03.610 If you see it, you got to see it. You got to 00:58:03.610 --> 00:58:06.650 see who God is through who he has been. That's 00:58:06.650 --> 00:58:08.429 when we read our Bibles, we're seeing who he 00:58:08.429 --> 00:58:11.380 has been. So we can rely on His faithfulness. 00:58:11.440 --> 00:58:16.719 We see who He is and who He will be at the end. 00:58:18.179 --> 00:58:22.000 It's an image to see yourself in Him, seated 00:58:22.000 --> 00:58:24.960 with Him, and your life, listen, your life aligned 00:58:24.960 --> 00:58:30.539 with His perfect will. Hebrews 11, 1, Now faith 00:58:30.539 --> 00:58:33.719 is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence 00:58:33.719 --> 00:58:37.199 of things not seen. Hope, as you know, if you've 00:58:37.199 --> 00:58:39.590 been in a Lation church for a while, for any 00:58:39.590 --> 00:58:42.210 amount of time, you know that we talk about hope 00:58:42.210 --> 00:58:47.849 a lot as being a confident expectation. What 00:58:47.849 --> 00:58:50.969 is that? It's seeing the future with certainty 00:58:50.969 --> 00:58:54.530 that God's will has already been accomplished. 00:58:55.769 --> 00:58:58.989 And that's what brings faith, because we hear 00:58:58.989 --> 00:59:01.650 it, we believe it, and then we act on the truth, 00:59:01.750 --> 00:59:07.119 not on the circumstance. Not on the reality that 00:59:07.119 --> 00:59:09.860 we face. We act on the truth of what we know. 00:59:11.460 --> 00:59:15.139 Not on what we see. Not on what we feel. Not 00:59:15.139 --> 00:59:18.659 on what our minds have imagined. We act on what 00:59:18.659 --> 00:59:23.679 we know. The truth of God's word is higher. Means 00:59:23.679 --> 00:59:26.539 more. Carries more weight. I'm going to invest 00:59:26.539 --> 00:59:31.599 my belief in that. That's what I'm going to take 00:59:31.599 --> 00:59:34.219 to the bank. That's what can't be taken away 00:59:34.219 --> 00:59:37.179 from me is the vision that God has for me, despite 00:59:37.179 --> 00:59:41.480 of my situation, despite of the hardship. God 00:59:41.480 --> 00:59:43.340 didn't promise you not to go through hardship. 00:59:43.480 --> 00:59:45.900 He promised that he gives you a vision of hope 00:59:45.900 --> 00:59:52.619 and future that no one can steal. Unless you 00:59:52.619 --> 00:59:55.260 open the door of your mind to Satan, unless you 00:59:55.260 --> 00:59:58.519 get your mind on the circumstance, on the symptom, 00:59:58.719 --> 01:00:07.559 on the lack. Come on. As soon as you get a sniffle, 01:00:07.559 --> 01:00:10.679 if you turn to WebMD, they're going to have you 01:00:10.679 --> 01:00:12.539 in the hospital somewhere. You're going to be 01:00:12.539 --> 01:00:16.480 planning out my insurance policy. And what are 01:00:16.480 --> 01:00:19.699 my kids going to do? Why? Because it's Satan 01:00:19.699 --> 01:00:23.599 using an image to get you to see a future. It 01:00:23.599 --> 01:00:27.500 might be real. It might have potential. But listen, 01:00:27.599 --> 01:00:35.780 it's not the truth of God's Word. His promises 01:00:35.780 --> 01:00:38.500 and plans are not just for you to know, but for 01:00:38.500 --> 01:00:41.420 you to mentally image yourself, your life, and 01:00:41.420 --> 01:00:44.159 your world according to them. And this is the 01:00:44.159 --> 01:00:48.460 key component to renewing your mind. This is 01:00:48.460 --> 01:00:50.940 what opens the door to divine transformation, 01:00:51.019 --> 01:00:54.699 for God's power to flow through and to change 01:00:54.699 --> 01:00:58.320 your natural and temporal circumstance. You've 01:00:58.320 --> 01:01:00.679 got to believe more strongly in what the Word 01:01:00.679 --> 01:01:04.389 says. than what the temporal circumstances say. 01:01:05.309 --> 01:01:08.849 And that's when faith, listen, faith then is 01:01:08.849 --> 01:01:11.289 the bridge for the power of God to flow through 01:01:11.289 --> 01:01:14.110 the door of your mind and produce the transformation. 01:01:18.070 --> 01:01:23.070 Faith does not bring the power. Your mind being 01:01:23.070 --> 01:01:26.670 renewed opens the door for God's power that you 01:01:26.670 --> 01:01:29.429 know, that you're certain of, flows through. 01:01:31.119 --> 01:01:33.539 So that means for us today, and I'm done, we 01:01:33.539 --> 01:01:37.059 have to refuse to accept any image of yourself, 01:01:37.400 --> 01:01:40.099 of your family, any future thing. We have to 01:01:40.099 --> 01:01:43.739 refuse anything that contradicts who God is, 01:01:43.900 --> 01:01:47.400 who you are in Christ, and what you have in Christ. 01:01:47.900 --> 01:01:51.639 Got to refuse it. We don't allow our imagination 01:01:51.639 --> 01:01:57.619 to run wild based on fantasies. Real probabilities 01:01:57.619 --> 01:02:03.300 with no truth. You've got to direct your imagination 01:02:03.300 --> 01:02:10.380 to see your future based on God's promises. Renewing 01:02:10.380 --> 01:02:12.760 your mind daily, as we've said, is taking control 01:02:12.760 --> 01:02:16.199 of your focus. It's directing our imaginations. 01:02:16.219 --> 01:02:18.239 And next week, we're talking about aligning our 01:02:18.239 --> 01:02:24.800 words to God's reality. The mind is the door. 01:02:24.880 --> 01:02:29.420 Everybody say the door. Spiritual powers. And 01:02:29.420 --> 01:02:31.739 the image you focus on determines which power 01:02:31.739 --> 01:02:34.960 influences your life, the lives of those around 01:02:34.960 --> 01:02:37.880 you, and your sphere of influence in the earth. 01:02:38.760 --> 01:02:43.619 It's your choice. This online worship experience 01:02:43.619 --> 01:02:46.119 was brought to you by the friends and partners 01:02:46.119 --> 01:02:47.059 of Elation Church.