Thoughts Life Unfolds – How to Overcome Negative Thinking audio video notes. The greatest commandment of God includes loving with your mind, meaning your thoughts. Your mind and thinking are at the top of the list of the greatest – highest -commandments. You will never love the Lord, anyone else, or yourself with your heart or soul until you love him and them with your thoughts. Life unfolds that way
THOUGHTS THE CREATIVE POWER
By Pastor Delbert Young
Thoughts Life Unfolds – How to Overcome Negative Thinking
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Thoughts Life Unfolds – How to Overcome Negative Thinking
Scriptures: Proverbs 23:7, 2 Timothy 1:7, Matthew 22:37-40, Jonah 1:17, Genesis 30:43, Genesis 31:10, James 2:17, Matthew 21:22, John 11:41-44
Proverbs 23:7 For as he THINKETH in his heart, so is he…
Your life, your reality, exists in your thoughts. Your ability to think of something, anything, is the first step in creating it. What you think about will come about. You are, and you have what you desire and think. Thinking is the foundation of creating. Nothing exists that did not first exist in pure thought. As long as you can think, you are constantly in the act of creating. You are creating your reality every minute with every thought. When you celebrate life, you celebrate all you have created in life. God created you in his image. You create the rest.
LOVE:
2 Timothy 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of POWER, and of LOVE, and of A SOUND MIND.
What do we have POWER to do? We have the power to love and think. LOVE is associated with a SOUND MIND and produces POWER in our lives. The Greek word translated power is dunamis and means force; miraculous power; a miracle itself. There is positive energy/power generated when you think of love. They asked Jesus what was the greatest/highest/most powerful commandment or law.
Thoughts Life Unfolds That Way
Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus replied: LOVE the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your MIND. This is the first and GREATEST commandment. And the second is like it: LOVE your neighbor AS YOURSELF. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.
We all want love and look for love, but when we become love and give love, we truly get somewhere. THE GREATEST/HIGHEST/MOST POWERFUL LAW AND COMMANDMENT OF GOD INCLUDE LOVING WITH YOUR MIND OR YOUR THOUGHTS. Your mind and thinking are at the top of the list of the greatest (highest) commandments. You will never love the Lord, anyone else, or yourself with your heart or soul until you love him/them with your thoughts. When thinking about God, you always think upward, forward, and creatively.
Why should we love God with our heart, soul, and mind? It is impossible to properly think of God, people, or yourself and think downward or backward thoughts.
Jesus also said Love your neighbor as YOURSELF. We understand that we should love and forgive people, for in so doing, we are like God (Mat 5:44-48), but why should I love myself? Jesus did not mean some vain, conceited, arrogant love of self. He meant a very healthy feeling about yourself. How do you feel about yourself? What kind of THOUGHTS do you have about yourself? Are they upward-high thoughts or downward-backward thoughts? Before you can ever have powerful, creative thoughts for your life, you must LOVE YOURSELF.
Do you feel you are an “attractive” person?
Thoughts Life Unfolds That Way
What does “attractive” mean? Does it not mean you “attract” people and things to your life? If you do not believe you are “attractive” then how will you “attract” good people and good things to your life? People with low self-esteem “believe” they are victims of society – victims of bad parenting, victims of bad physical appearance, bad health, bad environment, bad education, etc. They blame something for their lack of success. In reality, there are no victims. There are only creators. They, like you, create and become what they think. We use life to create who we are.
What you think about comes about.
If you do not love yourself, others will not love you. If you do not respect yourself, others will not respect you. Have you ever noticed that confident people do seem a little vain? However, confident people accomplish much. Confident people are power thinkers who are always thinking forward. They think they can achieve anything, and then they do. It seems that good things and good people are always coming to them, and they are. The people you admire are confident people who learned at least this part of the greatest commandment – LOVE YOURSELF.
If you have low self-esteem, meaning you do not love yourself, you must replace that thinking. We talked about replacement thinking in the first lesson. Ask, “How does a person think who does love their self?” Think of someone you respect who is very confident. Write down how they think. Make a written list of all the wonderful things about you. As you begin to list them, you will feel confidence building inside of you. Focus on those things. As you do, you will begin “attracting” good people and good things. This is a law of the highest order, and it works all the time.
Love is the greatest or the highest law of God. Jesus said all other laws “hang on” this law of love. In other words, if you operate in this law correctly, everything else in life will hang or align correctly. You cannot afford to allow anything to mess with your love for yourself, love for people, and love for God.
Thoughts Life Unfolds That Way
THOSE IN YOUR BOAT:
Everything you have, good or bad, and everything going on around you, good or bad, begins with a thought. I understand that statement is not an easy truth to receive, especially if you are experiencing bad situations. Someone might ask, “Are you telling me that my husband/wife’s unfaithfulness is because of something I thought?” No, I am sure you did not think that, but he or she did. Someone might ask, “Are you telling me that I am sick because I thought it?” Fear and dread thoughts can bring upon you sickness (Job 3:25).
Anger, anxiety, and depression thoughts make anyone physically ill. Also, there are other thoughts that make us physically ill. Let’s use a sickness like cancer. Did you ever smoke? Did you ever desire that “smoke”? Then, there is a different dilemma. What about the child with cancer? They did not smoke or think about it. Somehow, the sickness got into the gene pool. Did someone in the previous four generations have thoughts (lifestyle) that added cancer to your gene pool? I am sorry, but everything that I find in my life somehow links back to either my thoughts, the thoughts of my ancestors, or the thoughts of people around me.
An example would be a home with a rebellious child, which is not uncommon.
Do you remember the story about Jonah? Jonah was in rebellion and full of rebellious thoughts. He got into a boat with other people. Jonah’s thinking brought a violent storm, and EVERYONE IN THE BOAT WITH JONAH suffered from Jonah’s rebellious thinking. Your children, your spouse, and your friends are in your boat. You will experience severe storms from the thinking of people to which you are close. You will also experience tremendous blessings from the thinking of people to which you are close.
Thoughts Life Unfolds That Way
Lot hung out with Abraham, his uncle, and was tremendously blessed (millionaire-type blessed). He moved to Sodom and experienced tremendous storms. So, it is not only your thinking that creates how your life goes. EVERY PERSON IN YOUR LIFE IS CREATING BY THEIR THINKING. Who is in your boat? What they think about comes about just as what you think about comes about. Have you ever heard or said something like this: “Who thought that up?” When in a storm, ask, “Who thought this up?” Then, you can begin dealing with it. That is what they did with Jonah.
We simply do not realize the great creative power of people’s thoughts. It is impossible to monitor the thoughts of others; however, we can carefully choose who climbs into our boat. Sometimes, the only solution is to throw Jonah out. Jonah was going into that ocean even if God had to sink the whole boat. God loved Jonah and the people of Nineveh that much.
Jonah 1:17 But the LORD provided a great fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was inside the fish THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS.
IT WAS AMAZING WHAT THAT FISH DID FOR JONAH. THOSE THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS WERE THE BEST THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS OF JONAH’S LIFE. IT CORRECTED HIS THINKING AND GAVE HIM A FREE RIDE TO WHERE HE NEEDED TO GO IN LIFE.
Thoughts Life Unfolds That Way
DO SOMETHING: Your thoughts drive you toward and, at the same time, draw to you what you desire in life. Sometimes, what you desire miraculously happens. There are other times when you will get a divine thought. I shared about how my wife and I wanted to be debt-free, and the divine thought was to sell our house, pay off all bills, and build a new house debt-free. We did. That was a divine thought, but we had to do something. I have told you about the time the Lord spoke to my wife and gave her a divine thought to pay off our church building, but we had to do something. You will recognize a divine thought.
It might sound strange, but if you will do it, it always “works.” Sometimes, you might find a book holding the way to obtain your desire, or a person will happen into your life with the answer, but you will be required to do something. Sometimes the solution to your desire might come in a dream.
Do you remember the story about Jacob when his uncle Laban cheated Jacob ten times? Laban and Jacob made a deal. Jacob worked for Laban as a shepherd. The deal was that all the animals born with spots on them would be Jacob’s, and all the solid-colored animals would be Laban’s. Jacob put peeled branches in front of the animals in the breeding season, and suddenly, all the animals began to birth spotted animals (Gen 30).
Genesis 30:43 As a result, Jacob’s flocks increased rapidly, and he became very wealthy, with many servants, camels, and donkeys.
I always wondered about that. From where did Jacob learn to do the peeled bark thing? Then one day I saw what happened.
Thoughts Life Unfolds That Way
Genesis 31:10 In breeding season I once had a DREAM in which I looked up and saw that the male goats mating with the flock were streaked, speckled or spotted.
Jacob’s divine idea came to him in a dream. What you need will come to you as you focus on/drive to it, but you will need to do something. THE POINT HERE IS THAT YOU WILL NEED TO DO SOMETHING. YOU CAN’T THINK IT AND SIMPLY EXPECT IT TO FALL OUT OF THE SKY.
James 2:17 In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
When creative thinking is in operation, it is comfortable and effortless. You have peace and are also excited and energized. You have joy and anticipation, and you are not “forcing” it. Everything miraculously falls into place, and when you look back, you see the supernatural aspects. It is like flowing down a gently moving river in a canoe. At most, your effort is simply to give a little direction. You are in the flow. You are in the zone.
When you try to make it happen, it is like paddling up a river against the current. You provide all the energy and get nowhere fast. If that is the case, move over to the bank and refocus. My point is that thinking is the foundation of creation. God will send the solution, but you will need to do your part as well.
Thoughts Life Unfolds That Way
QUIETING THE MIND: One thing necessary to remain focused and refocus your thoughts is to learn to quiet your mind. JESUS CONSTANTLY DAILY QUIETED AND FOCUSED HIS MIND. JESUS CALLED THIS PRAYER.
Matthew 21:22 If you BELIEVE, you will RECEIVE whatever you ask for in prayer
For the Christ follower, it is also called prayer. Most Christians think of prayer as presenting to God a “to-do” list of things we want him to do. Prayer should be a time of loving God with our minds and thoughts, focusing, calming, and quieting the mind.
A purpose of prayer is to make your mind stop running 100 mph, thinking about 100 different things. Slow your mind to 1 mph and focus on one thing for a few minutes. That may sound easy, but try it. It is not easy. I challenge you to sit quietly and focus on your #1 desire for 10 minutes in prayer. Then focus on your #2 desire for a few minutes, then #3 until you have covered the THINGS soever ye desire (Mark 11:24). If you will, you will begin to feel and see things happen.
GRATITUDE: There is a great story in John 11 about Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. They placed Lazarus into his tomb. After four days, Jesus arrived and told them to move the stone away. After refocusing Martha and Mary’s belief, Jesus did something that used to puzzle me.
Thoughts Life Unfolds That Way
John 11:41-44 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, FATHER, I THANK YOU THAT YOU HAVE HEARD ME I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me. When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, Lazarus, come out! The dead man came out…
What used to puzzle me was Jesus said Father, I thank you that you have heard me, but he had not yet said anything to Father. He told some people to move the stone. He refocused Martha and Mary, but he had said nothing to Father. JESUS GAVE GRATITUDE IN ADVANCE AND THEN RECEIVED WHAT HE ASKED. Isn’t that backward? Shouldn’t we get what we want first and then say thank you? Obviously not. If we genuinely believe we receive it (Mark 11:23-24), then how ungrateful we are if we do not thank God for it, so it’s not in advance. If we have received it, all that is left is to thank you.
So, if your prayer is constantly begging and asking, then your thoughts are creating more begging and asking.
The most powerful prayer of belief is a prayer of GRATITUDE. That sounds great, Delbert, but I am not very grateful right now. Well, there you go. Could you be experiencing what you are experiencing because you have never learned the law of GRATITUDE? We cannot only be grateful for the good. We must realize that there is opportunity in every bad experience and crisis. There are no coincidences in God. There is a divine purpose behind everything and, therefore, a divine presence in everything.
Thoughts Life Unfolds That Way
Lazarus’ death was not good. Jesus did not thank Father for Lazarus’ death. He was thanking Father not only for the resurrection of Lazarus but also for the opportunity and good that would come from his death and resurrection. There is resurrection in everything if we look for it. Most success comes from failure. A worst day always brings a best day. Cultivate the ability to be grateful even in bad times. This will turn the event around and resurrect your Lazarus. What do you want raised? Stop the backward thought with a forward thought of gratitude. Gratitude in advance will raise your dead dreams to life, just as it did with Lazarus.
Life is like driving at night.
You are going 55 mph on a two-lane, dark, curvy road or maybe 70 mph on an interstate. Your headlights are reaching out 200 feet. That is all you can see, but you know and have faith there is more road. You do not fear or doubt. You believe the road will continue and take you where you want to go.
Of course, you can drive completely from the Atlantic coast to the Pacific coast using your car’s headlights. LIFE UNFOLDS THAT WAY. You cannot see the Pacific Ocean from here, but you know it is there, and if you got in your car and headed west, driving only at night, you would get there.
What you desire in life will unfold in that way. Keep driving. Drive your life to where you want your life to go. Create the life you want. Your reality exists in your thoughts.
Love yourself, love people, and love God. You are attractive.
Be cautious about whom you allow in your boat, for they, too, are thinking and creating your reality.
Quiet your mind and focus. It is the best quality time you can spend.
Be grateful in advance. Seal the deal and resurrect those desires.
Thoughts Life Unfolds – How to Overcome Negative Thinking
Thoughts Life Unfolds – How to Overcome Negative Thinking
Other Related Sermons:
Dark Times – How to Overcome Discouragement
Whosoever Shall Have Whatsoever
Thoughts The Creative Power sermon series
The Word of the Lord Came to Jonah
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