Sharing good news of great joy to all people.
Elation Church. This is week number four and
the final week in our series that we've entitled
The Door. Everybody say The Door. Now, anyone
here, who's here today and you haven't been here
the first, the previous three weeks? Raise your
hand if you haven't been here. So, okay. You
haven't. I don't know. Anyway. The good thing
about our series is we give you enough information
so you're not just lost in the dark, all right?
So we're going to catch you up, but you're going
to have to listen fast. Look to the person beside
you and say, listen fast, because the preacher's
got a lot to say today, so you better listen
fast. And let your face tell me that you're listening
fast, because if your face looks real confused
and real puzzled, I'll keep saying the same thing
in different ways until the majority of you get
it. So that just goes to show you that if the
service goes long, it's your fault, not mine.
I want you to get it. Because we're not here
just doing time, are we? I mean, we set aside
this time to listen to God, to hear from God,
amen? And God wants you to get it. And I want
you to get it. So, week number four in our series
entitled The Door. Each week we've started out
by looking at one verse in the Ephesians 1 prayer
where Paul is praying for the believers in Ephesus.
And he's praying something. I'm adding a few
more verses in this week to add context. I'm
going to read, what, five verses instead of just
one. Ephesians 1, starting with verse 16. Paul
is saying, I pray for you consistently. How many
of you know if Paul is praying something for
the Ephesians, that he's also praying for everybody
else too? It's not just for them. If it was just
for them, we wouldn't have it. Okay? So God has
preserved His Word that this is for us too. It's
not just for them. And he's saying, I pray for
you constantly. Asking God, the glorious Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you something.
To give you spiritual wisdom and insight. We
all need it. We all need it. To give you spiritual
wisdom and insight so that you might grow. In
your knowledge of God. See, we've got to have
spiritual wisdom and insight before we can grow
in our knowledge of God. It's not just hearing
it. It's getting it. Not just hearing it. It's
getting it. I pray that your hearts will be flooded
with light. So that you can understand the confident
hope. The covenant hope He has given to those
He called. His holy people. Who are His rich
and glorious inheritance. That's who you are.
If you're in Christ, this is who you are. Holy.
Set apart for God. Right? And He wants you. To
understand the confident hope. He wants you to
have a confident expectation. Every time that
word hope shows up in the New Testament, it's
the Greek word elpo, and it's translated a confident
expectation that you can go ahead and get happy
about even before you experience it. That's what
that word means. So he wants you to understand
that. The confident hope he has given to those
he called his holy people. who are His rich and
glorious inheritance. And then this is a verse
we've been focusing in on. I also pray that you
will understand something. That you will understand
the incredible greatness of God's power for us.
We're not just understanding this incredible
greatness of God's power. We're also realizing
that it's for us. For us who believe Him. And
what's that power like? How powerful is that
power? Hey, it's the same mighty power that raised
Christ from the dead and seated Him in the place
of honor at God's right hand in the heavenly
realms. That's powerful. Because in that is where
Jesus accomplished everything for us. In his
resurrection. That's where it was all accomplished.
Hello? Some of you are looking puzzled. I might
have to say it more. Looking a little puzzled.
Jesus purchased it on the cross, but if He wouldn't
have raised from the dead, it wouldn't be available
for us. But now that He's raised from the dead,
it's mine. It's mine. Whoo! All right. So we've
been focusing in for this series on Ephesians
119. I pray, I also pray that you will understand
the incredible greatness of God's power for us.
Who believe in Him. This power, God's power is
for you. Everybody say it's for me. God's power
is for me. Is it just solely for your personal
enjoyment? Well, I want to tell you something.
It should impact your life before it impacts
anybody else's life. It's not going to flow through
you without impacting you. A pipe cannot allow
water to flow through it without getting wet.
God's power is for you. It flows through you
to accomplish God's will in the earth. Remember,
Jesus taught us to pray. God, I want your will
to be done on earth. As it is in heaven. Because
there's so many things going on in this earth.
It's not God's will. It's the product of fallen,
brokenness, sin. See, those things aren't going
to be in heaven. No brokenness is going to be
in heaven, right? So that tells us that brokenness
is not God's will. Are you with me? Some of you
are thinking way too hard. Then we started talking
about the door, because there's a door. Everybody
say, there's a door. Genesis 28, 11 through 13,
Jacob found a stone to rest his head against
and to lay down to sleep. And as he slept, he
had a dream. It was a spiritual dream. It was
a God dream. It wasn't just he had some pizza
right before he went to bed. And had some weird
dreams. This is a God dream. As he slept, he
dreamed of a stairway that reached from the earth
up to heaven. You might know it, or have heard
it before, as a ladder. Everybody say, Jacob's
ladder. That's where we get that from. From this
text. He slept and he dreamed of a stairway,
a ladder that reads from earth up to heaven.
And he saw something. Angels of God going up
and down the stairway, up and down the ladder.
So we see that something is happening. There's
a door in heaven and then there's... There's
activity happening from heaven to the earth and
from the earth back to heaven. These are his
messengers. These are his workers. Angels of
God going up and down the stairway. At the top
of the stairway stood the Lord. Then Jacob woke
up. He woke up from his sleep and he said, Surely
the Lord is in this place. Surely the Lord is
in this place. What an awesome place. Anywhere
the Lord is is an awesome place. What an awesome
place this is. It is none other than the house
of God, the very gateway to heaven. House of
God. Everybody say house of God. Everybody say
gateway to heaven. Now, house of God, here's
the Hebrew word. It can be translated and has
been translated house, household, temple, or
dwelling. House of God. Temple of God. Dwelling
of God. And the gate, the gateway, here's the
Hebrew word for that. And it's translated as,
in English, an opening, a gate. Or a door. Everybody
say a door. A door between heaven and earth.
Between spiritual realms and natural realms.
There is a door. There's a door. Here's some
more verses to help you out. Then as I looked,
I saw a door. Everybody say a door. Standing
open in heaven. And instantly I was in the spirit.
And saw the throne in heaven and someone, God,
sitting on it. So there was a door. When God
said to John, come up here, I want to show you
something. He showed him a door. And inside that
door was the temple. It was the throne room of
eternity he was looking into. The house of God.
Heaven. The throne room. Everybody say door.
Everybody say heaven. Everybody say spiritual
realm. See what he saw. He moved from natural
to seeing spiritual. His eyes were open. Here's
another one. Jesus talking to a church. He says,
look, I stand at the door and knock. Everybody
say a door. So Jesus is saying, look, there's
a door, and it's between me and you, and I'm
knocking, and I want you to open up that door
and let me come in, and I will come in. If you
will open up the door, I will come in. We will
share a meal together as friends. Everybody say
a door. So where is God? Look at the person beside
you and say, where is God? 1 Corinthians 3 .16
Do you not know that you are the temple of God?
And that the Spirit of God dwells in you? God
is in heaven. He's still in the throne room of
eternity. But He's also In you. If you're in
Christ, he's in you. We're in him, he's in us.
Right? So wherever the spirit and the spirit
realm is, there is a door of opportunity for
us. There's a door. Of opportunity. Have you
ever gone through a phase where, you know, you
know the Holy Spirit's in you, but you didn't
recognize Him. You didn't honor Him. You didn't
communicate with Him. Right? He's there. He doesn't
leave and come back and leave and come back.
He's there. But you only have fellowship with
Him and encounter. the spiritual realm when you
acknowledge Him. That's when you're going to
experience it. So God is in heaven. We've looked
at those verses. God is in us. And I want to
tell you something today. God is eagerly waiting
on you to open your door to Him so His power
can flow through you. I think that's worth saying
again. Even though you can read it. I'm going
to say it again. God is in heaven and God is
in you and God is eagerly waiting on you. You've
got to open the door. He's waiting on you to
open the door to Him so His power can flow through
you. And when His power flows through you, it's
flowing for you and it's flowing to accomplish
His will in the earth. But you have to open the
door. Here's some illustration of what we're
talking about. Matthew 16, verses 13 through
19. When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea
Philippi, He asked His disciples something. He
asked them, He said, Who do men say that I, the
Son of Man, am? What's the word on the street?
What are people saying about me? How are they
identifying me? So the disciples began to say
what they had heard, right? Some say John the
Baptist. Some say Elijah. Others, Jeremiah. Or
one of the other prophets. And then Jesus looked
at them and said, but who do you say that I am?
Who do you say that I am? I mean, I've been spending
time with you. You should know me better than
everybody else. We've been spending a lot of
time together. Who do you say that I am? Simon
Peter answered and said, boy, he was known for
sticking his foot in his mouth, but he did good
on this one. Simon Peter answered and said, you
are the Christ, the anointed one, the empowered
one. That's what Christ means. You are the empowered
one, the anointed one. You are the son of the
living God. You're Christ. I know that made Jesus
smile. He just went... In the back of his mind,
he's going, Peter, you said some stupid things,
but... That's good right there. Jesus answered
and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar -Jonah,
for flesh and blood has not revealed this to
you, but my Father who is in heaven. Everybody
say revelation. This was revelation. It didn't
come out of Peter's peanut brain. Here's what
happened. Peter opened the door. Everybody say
the door. Here's what just happened. Peter opened
the door to the spirit realm and received revelation
from God, and then he said it. Flesh and blood
has not revealed this to you, but my Father who
is in heaven. And I also say that you are Peter,
and on this rock I will build my church, and
the gates of Hades shall not prevail against
it. I saw something this week that we haven't
even saw before. Wait a minute. There's gates.
Everybody say gates. There's doors. Everybody
say doors. So there's a door to God's realm,
the spirit realm, but there are also doors of
hell. of demonic. There's also doors to the demonic
and doors to the satanic. And Jesus said, on
this rock, on this revelation of who Jesus is,
that He is the Christ, the Son of the living
God, on this revelation, the mode in which He
received it, by opening His door to the spirit
realm, come on somebody, By opening His door
and receiving revelation from God, the Father,
the Spirit realm, into this earth and speaking
it out. But there are also other people who are
opening up their doors for the purpose of letting
satanic power flow through. But here's the deal.
That will not prevail. It's not like we're in
a close fight, people. We're not in a close fight.
It will not prevail against revelation from God,
from His power. There's no question who wins.
As a matter of fact, Jesus kicked out his teeth
on the cross. He's just a roaring lion now. He
can't even bite you. All he can do is gum you
a little bit. He can mess with batteries, but
he can't. Jeffrey talked to me about changing
the batteries. I said, I don't know. It had a
full bar, so we'll just go with it. So, the gates
that are open from the satanic, demonic realm
for their power to flow through, it will not,
cannot prevail against you when your door is
open to God. Peter's door is open to God's power.
He spoke divine revelation in agreement with
God's will and God's plan. Because that's why
Jesus came. He is the Messiah. When he's saying
the word Christ, I mean, he's basically saying,
I believe that you're the Messiah. You're the
Christ. You're the empowered one. You're the
anointing one from God. You're the Son of God.
That was a powerful statement. Where the spirit
realm, Paul... Peter had opened his door to the
spirit realm and then that flowed through. Look
at the person beside you and tell them it can
happen to you just like that. It can happen in
your life just like that. Let's keep going with
the story. Jesus said, I'll give you the keys.
Of the kingdom of heaven. And whatever you bind
on earth will be bound in heaven. Whatever you
loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. How
does that happen? By the door being open. You're
binding and you're loosing. God is giving us
the keys. That's the method, the ability, the
authority to open or close the door. That's what
keys do, right? And if you don't have the key,
you can't open it and you can't lock it. You've
got to have the key. Jesus has given the keys.
He's given you the keys to the door, the authority,
the ability to open or close the door of spiritual
influence in the earth, and He lets you decide.
He lets you decide. Keep going. This is just
a few minutes later, right? Everybody just say
a few minutes. A few minutes. From that time,
Jesus began to show his disciples that he must
go to Jerusalem, suffer many things from the
elders and chief priests and scribes, and be
killed and be raised again on the third day.
Saint Peter. Everybody say Saint Peter. St. Peter.
Then Peter said, hey, Jesus, come here. I got
to talk to you about something. I ain't going
to let this happen. What you talking about? You're
going to go to Jerusalem. Be crucified. You're
going to be killed. Not on my watch, Jesus. Peter
took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Jesus. Hello?
Far be it from you, Lord, this shall not happen
to you. Now, wait a minute. What was the will
and the plan of God? Come on, stay with me. What
was the will and the plan of God? For Jesus,
He came to die on the cross, right? He came to
lay down His life. That's the plan and the will
of God that Jesus is telling them about. And
then Peter goes, Nuh -uh. You think that's good?
For Peter to speak against the plan and the will
of God? Where does that come from? What door
is open? Well, Jesus is going to flat out tell
him what door is open. Jesus turned and said
to Peter, get behind me, Satan. Peter didn't
turn to Satan, did he? I mean, he didn't like
the Lord. No, but he opened up the door. He opened
up his door. Jesus said, get behind me, Satan.
You're an offense to me. That's a... That's a
door open to the power and authority of hell.
And you've got to get behind me. You're not going
to stand against the plan and the will of God.
Get behind me, Satan. You're an offense to me.
So now Peter's door is open to Satan's power.
Just a few minutes after it was open, and you
know what? Same thing can happen in our lives.
It's up to us. We can open the door. By the way,
the door is your mind. Everybody say your mind.
That's what the door is. You can open the door
to God and the spirit realm and receive revelation
from God or You can open the door to things that
are against God, against His plan, against His
will. That's good preaching right there. Anyway,
why did this happen? Jesus even explained why
it happened. He said, you know what? Here's the
problem, Peter. You're not mindful of the things
of God. That's the problem. That's why you just
said what you said, because you're not mindful
of the things of God, but the things of men.
That word mindful, here's the Greek word, it
means to think, it means to set your mind on,
to have that kind of mindset. His mindset changed
very quickly. Like Peter. What you are mindful
of determines what influence the door of your
mind is open to. Happens the same way in us as
it happens in him. What are you mindful of? Your
mind is a door to spiritual power. Now, we've
talked about two things. We talked about our
mind being the door, and then we talked about
how to transform our mind or renew our mind.
And that happens through focus, and it happens
through your imagination. The object of your
focus, the object of your imagination, opens
the door of your mind to one of two spiritual
flows. And these are the main categories of spiritual
flow. Life and blessing or death and cursing.
See? Everybody look at me. If we can get a hold
of this truth, It'll change our lives. See, I
don't want you to just get it today. Just today
and hold on to it for a few minutes. I mean,
this will change your life. Your life will look
different tomorrow if you can get a hold of this.
It'll look different this afternoon. If you'll
get a hold of this, your life will look different.
I'm not talking about theory. Just something
to give to increase your intellect. If you'll
receive this, it'll change your life. The object
of your focus and imagination, that's what opens
the door. That's what opens your mind, your focus
and your imagination. And it's going to open
it to one of two spiritual flows. I'm going to
give you some verses to support what I just said.
Romans 8 and 6. For to be carnally minded, fleshly
minded, earthly minded. That's the Greek word,
sarx. It's translated all those ways. To be a
meathead. Thank you for laughing. To be carnally
minded, fleshly minded, earthly minded, or merely
of human origin or empowerment minded is death.
But to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Everybody say focus. Everybody say imagination.
Because what we focus on is going to turn into
imagination. It's going to turn into a mental
picture of a future probability of what we are
expecting. Deuteronomy 30, 19. God tells His
people, I've set before you life and death, blessing
and cursing. He says, choose life. What if your
teacher at school, what if they gave you a question
and then they gave you the answer? You'd be,
something would be wrong if you picked the wrong
answer when the teacher just told you what the
right answer was. Bless their little hearts.
I have set before you. It's set before you. It
is set before you. Life and blessing, death and
cursing, it's always set before you. And God
says, I want you to choose life. I want you to
choose life. I've done so much for you. To make
it possible for you to choose life and blessing.
I've done so much. But he says, but if you want
to choose death and cursing, that's up to you.
I'm going to respect your decision. I sure do
want you to choose life and blessing. What about
Jeremiah 29, 11? How many of you have memorized
this verse? A time or two. For I know the plans
I have for you, says the Lord. Do you know God
has a plan and a will for you? I know the plans
I have for you, says the Lord. They're plans
for good. Everybody say good. Not for disaster.
To give you a future and a hope. That's God's
plan for you. That's God's will for you. It's
for good. Everybody say good. I don't know. It's
been about a year ago, maybe a year and a half
ago. I looked up that word good. That's translated
good. And guess what I found? I mean, I'm ashamed
to say because I've been preaching for a long
time, but I never actually looked up the Hebrew
word right there. But the Hebrew word there is
shalom. My plan and my will for you. is wrapped
up in who I am because I am Yahweh's shalom.
I am the Lord your peace, and my plan for you
is peace. So if you're not experiencing peace,
you're not in the flow of the plan and the will
of God because your door's open to somebody else.
We're just going to talk when a rubber hits the
road, but that's the way this works. I'm not
going to namby -pamby around. I'm going to tell
you. God's plan and will for you is shalom. It's
for your safety. It's for your well -being. It's
even for your happiness. Choke on that a second.
God wants you happy. I can't tell you how many
preachers have said, God ain't concerned about
your happiness. He's just concerned about your
holiness. He's concerned about both. He wants
you to be happy and holy at the same time. He
don't want his children to walk around and look
like their mama raised them on lime juice in
the bottle. That's not his plan and his will.
God's plan for you is good. His will for you
is good. It's for your safety. It's for your
well -being. It's for your happiness. And then
it even is translated friendly. It's for your
welfare. It's for your health. It's for your
prosperity. It's for your peace. Prosperity is
bigger than stuff and money. It's so much bigger
than that. Because there's a lot of people with
a lot of stuff and a lot of money that they don't
have peace. Commit suicide, don't have peace.
God's not against you. having things either.
I have to say this because I talk to different
people. I mean, if David was a man after God's
own heart, and he gave an offering one day for
the temple, personal money, not the nation's
money, his personal wealth, he gave billions
in one offering. But he's a man after God's own
heart. So God's not against you having some stuff,
some nice stuff. But just having stuff is not
prosperity. Not according to the Word of God.
It's got to be with peace before it's prosperity.
Abraham, Solomon, take your choice. John 10 .10.
I want you to think about this. has a door being
opened into your life. You allowing a door to
be opened. The thief comes, if he gets through
the door, he's coming to steal, to kill, and
destroy. But, if our door is open to Jesus and
to God and the Holy Spirit, He says, I've come
that you may have life and that you may have
it to the fullest, more abundantly. Everybody
say, life and blessing, death and cursing. Old
Testament, New Testament. I mean, it flows straight
through. Listen, God's will and God's plan is
discovered in His words. And His Word establishes
something. I hope I proved it to you. There are
so many more verses that I can give you if you
don't believe what I just told you. But His Word
establishes that His will for you is life and
blessing. Life and blessing. God wants life and
blessing for you. But like I said, He will respect
your choices. Romans 12, 2 tells us this, and
do not be conformed to this world. Don't let
this world smash you into a mold. Do not be conformed
to this world, but be transformed. How are we
transformed? By the renewing of our mind. That
word transform, transform, change form. I want
you to see it as this. God's power flowing in
you and through you to change temporal things.
Because everything natural is temporal. Everything
spiritual is eternal. So how do we renew our
minds? Colossians 3, 1 and 2. If then you were
raised with Christ, who's been raised with Christ?
If you've been raised with Christ, then you need
to focus. You need to seek things which are above
where Christ is. Seated at the right hand of
God. We're supposed to live our lives from being
seated with Christ in heavenly places instead
of thinking, well, one day I might get there.
In Ephesians, it says, we are seated with Christ.
Now, we're seated with Christ in heavenly places.
And it's like, no, I'm not. I'm standing here
in the gymnasium in Davenport. But positionally,
spiritually, I'm seated with Christ. And we're
supposed to live our lives from the flow of heaven.
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those
things which are above where Christ is. Sitting
at the right hand of God. What are we supposed
to do? Set our mind. You're in charge of what
your mind is set on. And in this series, we've
talked about something. Thought birds are always
flying. Everybody say, thoughts, birds. Just
picture thoughts as birds. How many of you, all
of a sudden you think something, and you're like,
where did that come from? Where did that thought
come from? All of a sudden, just thought flies
by. Listen, we can't control what birds, what
type of birds fly around our head. But we can
control which one builds a nest in our hair.
So we've talked about it in this series. You
take each thought captive to the obedience of
Christ. That's what the Bible says. If that thought,
picture it as a bird, if that thought wants to
land in your mind, to build a nest in your hair,
to establish... This is what you need to be established
in, basically, if it's building a nest in your
hair. And it's not from God. It doesn't line
up with the plan and the will of God. This thought
that's all of a sudden wanting to build a...
This bird that wants to build a nest in your
head, you're supposed to smack it down. Not today.
Because you can't control the thoughts, but you
can control what you focus on. You can't control
what you meditate on. And if you let it build
a nest in your hair, that's what you're going
to be focusing on, what you're going to be meditating
on. And I'm speaking from experience. Because
I'm no different than you are. A preacher isn't
different than you. I have thoughts. I have thoughts
flying around my head too. I've got to choose
which one builds a nest in my hair. You do too.
I haven't perfected this. I'm just on the same
journey that you're on. But I'm standing here
on the authority of God's Word and telling you
that if you want the flow of God in your life,
the power of God in your life to transform your
temporary circumstances, you've got to open the
door to Him. And close the door that wants to
bring death and cursing and destruction to your
life. You've got to close it. I can't close it
for you. I can only close it for me. I can't
even close it for my wife. She can't close it
for me. It's up to you. Focus is a key contributor
to renewing your mind. Imagination is also. I
thought that was the next slide, so I said it
and then the next slide came up. So focus is
a key contributor to renewing your mind. And
here's what you've got to do. You've got to refuse
to focus on any thought or any temporal condition
that does not agree with who God is or your position
in Christ. Or what has been provided for you
in Christ. You've got to refuse any focus that's
against those things. That's how you walk by
faith and not by sight. I mean, we sing it in
the song. But you're in charge of your focus.
Are you going to focus on what you see? The temporary
condition that you might be going through, is
that what you're going to focus on? Are you going
to focus on the promise of God and who God is
and what He has made available to you and who
you are in Him? That's what you've got to focus
on. Imagination is a key contributor. You have
to direct your imagination. To see future probabilities
in agreement with who God is. Your position in
Christ. What you have in Christ. You've got to
see it. You've got to see it in your imagination
before you're going to see it in your life. I
need to say that again because y 'all are looking
at me like, what in the world did he just say?
You've got to see it. before you see it. The
door has to be open to imagining the future probabilities
in your life that are now aligned, not like the
way you see them right now with your natural
eyes, but you've got to see them. aligned to
who God is, what God has promised, who you are
in Christ, what He has made available to you
in Christ, that's what you've got to see in your
mind's eye. Because as long as you keep seeing
and imagining death, cursing, destruction, as
long as you keep imagining that, that's going
to continue to be the focus and that's going
to open the door. for that reality, the power
of that reality to come into your life. And you
might say, I don't want this much responsibility.
I just want God to zap it. Just zap me and change
my focus and change my imagination. No, He gives
us His Word. Hallelujah. Whatever you're seeing
today, Whatever you're feeling today is subject
to change because it's temporal. And we want,
I hope you want, the power of God to flow through,
the same power that raised Jesus from the dead,
flow through to change this temporal. By the
power of His eternal. Oh God, help us get it.
And all that was just like... Now we're going
to talk about new stuff. I mean, some of this
has been new, right? But here's the other contributors.
There's one more contributor. Everybody say one
more. One more contributor. Beyond focus, beyond
imagination. And you might not see words as being
a part of a renewed mind, of renewing your mind,
but I want you to see it differently today. Because
your words, the words out of your mouth, are
key contributors to renewing your mind. Proverbs
18, 21. Everybody say, death and cursing. Death
and cursing, life and blessing. Oh, look, here's
another verse. The tongue can bring death or
life. Those who love to talk will reap the consequences.
I think I need to read it again. The tongue can
bring. We can look at it this way according to
the series. The tongue can open the door. The
tongue can open the door of your mind to bring
death or life. And those who love to talk will
reap. You don't say might reap. It says we'll
reap the consequences. Boy, y 'all got quiet.
You must not love to talk at the moment. This
works both ways, you know. If you love to talk
about life and blessing and the promises of God,
guess what you're going to reap? Everybody say
life and blessing. If that's what you love to
talk about, the faithfulness of God, the goodness
of God, the promises of God, the provisions of
God, that's what we need to be talking about.
Because if we talk about that, we're going to
see life and blessing. But so many times we want
to talk about what we feel. We want to talk about
what we see. Hello? I'm just like you. But I
want to grow. Does anybody want to grow? I want
to grow. I don't want to be talking about death
and cursing and loss and lack. I won't be talking
about that all the time. Even if I see it, I
don't want to talk about it. I want to talk about
life and blessing. Because whatever we talk about,
Is the Bible true or is the Bible true? Whatever
we talk about the most is what we're going to
reap. And we can sit back and we can blame situations,
we can blame people for what we're experiencing.
But if you want to know what's responsible for
what you're experiencing, go in your bathroom
when you get home, look at yourself in the mirror,
and go. Say, God, why does it seem like I'm experiencing
death and cursing instead of life and blessing?
And then go. And that's your answer. That's what
the Bible says. Your tongue is like a bit in
a horse's mouth. It's like a rudder on a ship.
And it is steering your life towards what you're
talking about. I love you. That's why I'm preaching
hard. Because I don't want anything except for
you to experience in the life and the blessing
of God. It's available. I mean, let's go back
to our story. What's the final step in Peter
releasing this spiritual power through the open
door of his mind? What was the last step in both
instances? Words. You're the Christ, the Son
of the living God. There's the flow. Far be it
from you, Lord. This shall not happen to you.
There's the flow. Hello? And then in week number
two, I focus on this story. But what example
did Jesus give to describe Wrong focus and imagination.
Everybody say, birds and flowers. Birds and flowers.
But pay close attention. Jesus says, don't worry
about these things, and it's not just a head
situation, is it? I don't know, you've probably
read this a thousand times like I have, but all
of a sudden I was reading it, and I was like,
wait a minute. Don't worry about these things
saying. Everybody say words. Don't worry about
these things saying. What will we eat? What will
we drink? What will we wear? These things, listen,
dominate the thoughts of unbelievers. That's
what unbelievers say. That's what unbelievers
set their mind on. And sometimes I look at, I
don't want to be an unbeliever. I don't want
my mind set. I don't want my focus and my imagination
set the way that unbelievers, because I'm a believer.
Somebody smile. Even though it hurts a little
bit, just go ahead and smile. You know, it makes
you feel better if you smile, even when it's
hurting a little bit. Your Heavenly Father already
knows. Listen, the things you say, I'm about
done. I know it don't seem like I'm about done,
but I'm about done. Hold on. The things you say
are important to renew in your mind. Because
your tongue is connected to your brain. Captain
Obvious right there. Your tongue is connected
to your brain. And I want to tell you this. As
I was studying and as I was preparing, I was
like, I believe this is from God. What you hear
from you has more impact over your life than
what you hear from others. So what are you hearing
from you? I mean, we don't want other people
to say things bad to us or around us, but what
you hear from you is going to have more impact
on your life than what you hear from other people.
Words open the door for the spiritual to transform
the temporal. Everybody say words. Proverbs 21,
23. Watch your tongue and keep your mouth shut.
And you will stay out of trouble. That's what
the Bible says. Watch your tongue and keep your
mouth shut. Hey. If you're not going to speak
in line with the plans and will of God for your
life, it's better to say nothing. Because a lot
of the trouble in our lives comes from the words
we have said. Because we're reaping what we sowed,
and what we sowed was words. Speaking truth from
the Word of God in alignment with the will of
God and the purposes of God. Listen, that directs
and strengthens your mind's focus. It's part
of renewing the mind. It's not just saying words.
It's renewing your mind. Because when you speak
truth from the Word of God in alignment with
the will and the plans of God, life and blessing,
that directs your focus. That directs your imagination.
It gives substance. It gives something for you
to focus on. It gives focus on something for
you to imagine. It gives substance to that. Because
you're not just creating some fantasy in your
mind. Your imagination that you are directing,
you can use your words to build the picture of
the future probability of God's plan and will
being fulfilled in your life. Life and blessing.
Your words give substance to that when they're
in a line with the plan and will of God and His
purposes. So, that don't make sense, but I know
what I meant to type. Sometimes I change the
way I present it and I forget to delete stuff.
Listen, you can use your words. To capture thoughts.
You can also use your words to change thoughts.
I talked about taking each thought captive to
the obedience of Christ. When that bird flies
and all of a sudden you're hearing something
that's opening up the wrong door, you know what?
Don't just try to fight that battle in your mind.
Speak against it. In line with the will and the
plans of God. Darkness, you're not going to take
me down this time. I'm not going down that road
again. Do you mind if I share just what you shared?
Is that going to embarrass you? Do you mind if
I share? You're in the hospital. And all of a
sudden, you were having hallucinations. And then
you said, no, God, take these away. I know this
is not supposed to be the imagination of my mind.
It's in a place it don't need to be. And you
look to God to take it away and you haven't had
one since. Right? She shared that with me on
Thursday. But I'm telling you, this is real.
What I'm telling you is real. I'm not going there
anymore. Because this is what God says about
me. This is what God wants for me. God wants
life and blessing for me. His Word is very clear
that that is His will and His plans. So I take
that thought captive. I take that imagination
captive. I even stop my words and take those
words captive to the obedience of Christ. I've
got to quit preaching. I told you I was about
done. Works two ways. And I'm not talking about
negative and positive. I'm talking it works two
ways positive. You can speak words to build and
reinforce positive focus and imagination. And
you can speak to capture and redirect wrong focus
and imagination. So we need to be building. Our
focus and our imaginations with our words according
to God's plan and will, life and blessing. And
then if we have a focus or a thought or an imagination
that's death and cursing, then we need to speak
to capture it and redirect it. Keep your words.
In agreement with who God is. You've got to know
who God is. You can get on the podcast. We did
a whole series on the names that God gave us
to tell us who He is and what He wants to do
in our lives. Get on the podcast if you don't
know who God is. Or just Google it. You can get
a lot of verses and explanation on who He is.
How you can put your trust in Him. You have to
put your trust in Him in order to experience
who He is. Keep your words in agreement with
who you are in Christ. Keep your words in agreement
with what you have in Christ. Keep your words
in agreement with that. It helps to renew your
mind. Your mind is the doorway. This is our concluding
statement for the whole series. Your mind is
the doorway that spiritual power flows through.
It's your mind. Keep it closed to the flow of
death and cursing. Keep it closed. Just like
Peter should have kept it closed, he shouldn't
have said, far be it from you that this would
happen. You've got to close that one. Keep it
closed to the flow of death and cursing. Keep
it closed to anything that's against the plans
and the will of God. And keep it open. Look to
the person beside you and say, keep it open.
Keep it open to the flow of life and peace. Keep
it open. And how are you going to keep it open?
How are you going to keep it closed? Same three
ways. By your focus. By what you set your mind
on. By what you meditate on. You're going to
keep it open or closed by your imagination of
future probabilities, where your life is going
from today to tomorrow. And you're going to keep
it open or closed by the words that come out
of your mouth. This online worship experience
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of Elation Church.