You Are What You Think You Are

STUDY 1

YOU ARE WHAT YOU THINK YOU ARE

Text: Prov. 23:7, Phil. 4:8, Jos. 1:8, Jer. 29:13-14, Is. 26:3, Jn. 14:27

The word thinking is a very well definedissue in the bible. When we talk of thinking it sometimes refers to what we believe, what we anticipate and what we are convinced of Rom. 12:3. Thinking itself start with something we conceive in our mind. We often think about things to which we give credit or expect Jer. 29:11. Thinking is what we envision, what we feel or foresee 1 Cor. 8:2. Thinking start with imagination and something we understand or visualize Gen. 6:5. If you don’t want to think about something, you have to use your mind to disbelieve or disregard it Gal. 6:3. The longer you contemplate on something, the more it sticks to your thinking. If it is positive, you can begin to celebrate, success Eph. 3:20. If its negative, you can begin to examine problem that such a thought might give you.

Our brain is wired in a tremendous way to think Phil. 4:8, Prov. 23:7. What distinguishes us from animal is our ability to use our thinking faculty to solve problem and sort out the truth from error, consider things more diligently and make the right decision Ps. 48:9. This is where many people make mistakes.If you want to do well in life, you must begin to change your thinking.

Thinking errorsLk. 2:15, Job 22:20, Heb. 5:10-12

Many people mistakenly think that their success in life depends on the people they know, the environment they grow up or the culture into which they are born. Othersthinkit has to do with intelligence, ability, luck or fortune they possess. There are even others who blame their trouble on opportunities, their age or even their health. The good news is that all these factors have nothing to do with a successful life.

Your life is essentially not dependent on anything other than the Word you hear and how you process that piece of information. Notice that words are meant to change thinking. Someone might be depressed, you suddenly speak word to him and he begins to smile. There is nothing you have done except to just change his thought pattern. Prayer is directed towards God but the immediate benefit we receive from prayer surprisingly is that it allows us to change the way we think about the problem.This is why after we have prayed peace of God reigns on our heart even though the prayer has not been answeredPhil. 4:6, 7, Is. 26:3, Jn. 14:27. Also the bible is all words which is given to us to change nothing about us except the way we think. Therefore you need to know that the greatest thing that could change your life is just the way you think.

Trinity of Man - Rom. 12:4, 1 Cor. 6:19, 1 Thes. 5:23, Heb. 4:12-13

The man that God made is not a body, for that put same in the same class as animalsIs. 2:22, Job 7:13.The man God made is not a spirit, for that put him in the class of an angel Job 15:14. The man that God made is a body, soul and spirit. You have the body of an animal,the spirit of an angel. So what especially distinguishes us from these two is the soul. You can be defined as a spirit dwelling in a body and possessing a soul 1Thess. 5:23. It is your spirit that is savedPs. 8:4your body and soul are not Eccl. 12:5.

The soul is the mistress between the body and the spirit so that what happens in the soul affect what happen in the spirit. Somebody may be dying and you speak a word to him.The word may not be anointed but once he accepts the word, it changes his thinking and so his life is changed. So the soul is the place where three things happen.It is the seat of our feelings, affection, emotion, but most importantly it is where we do all our thinking.

Thinking through your MindRom. 14:5, 1 Cor. 2:16, Eph. 4:23

Your mind is your organ of thought. It is there you know, think, imagine, remember and understand.Your intellect, reasoning, wisdom and cleverness all occur in your thought. In a broader sense, we can say that your mind is your brain. Mind is a psychological term and brain is a physiological term. Once you win a battle in your mind, the victory is almost certain.

Your mind is a battlefield or battleground. Both Satan and God want to invade your mind (thought). If you allow Satan he will take charge of your mind. If you dwell extensively only on the word of God and prayer, then God invades your mind.

So what controls your life is not whether or not you are saved in your spirit, or the colour of your skin in your body, but your soul. If you have the right information in your soul and you do the right thinking, then your life will be totally transformedespecially if you are a Christian.

Triumphing through the truth–Jn. 8:32, Jn. 14:6, Jn. 16:13, Jn. 17:17

The following truth can be of help to you, if you change the way you think.

1.You are not what people think you are, but what you think you are.

2.You are not what the devil believes you are, but what God thinks you are

3.You are not what your friends think you are, but what you think you are

A problem is not what others think it is but what you think it is. Your reaction to any situation is not what the situation is, but what you think the situation is. You make your happiness in this life by what you think, because the happiness is not dependent on what it is. You are to guide your thinking so well that you think the right thought. You must know that satan’s mode of operation is in your thought life. It cannot reach your spirit, unless it first get through your soul.

You must know that you can never rise above your thinking in any aspect of life. You must also know that the bible is meant to change your thinking so that you can allow your thought to be indwelt bythe word of God.

Your perspective of any issue is of utmost importance. Your view of life and thought about it incidentally determines what life throws at you.

The law of thought and result is like the law of sowing and reaping. Put good thought about people and places, they will respond to you accordingly. So the key word is CHANGE YOUR THOUGHT AND CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

Prayer:

1. Blood of Jesus cleanse my heart of all evil and erroneous thoughts.
2. Seeds of evil thoughts in my heart wither off.
3. Holy Ghost of God take control of my mind.
4. I receive the grace to think according to God’s will.
5. I use the blood of Jesus to block the door of my heart from arrows of evil thought.

STUDY2

THINKING BIG LIKE A GREAT GIANT

Text:Num. 14:6-9, 1 Sam. 17:35-37, Mk. 10:43, I Sam. 17:1 - 58

The whole life itself is all about thinking. The story of David and Goliath provides us with example of how your thinking can make you overcome all life obstacles 1 Sam. 17:34-35. There are too many troubles in the World, and negative thinkingmakes it worse.

Thinking in your soul - Prov. 4:23

You will be surprised to know that the bible uses the word soul for you, giving you the impression that you are a soul, because you are a soul Gen.6:7, 12:5, 46:15-27, Exo.1:5,Lev.22:11, Ps.25:20, Prov. 10:3, 11:25, 14:25, Eze.13:18-20, 18:4)

These scriptures that cut across several years of biblical books show that as you think in your heart, so you are 1 Cor. 2:11, Prov. 23:7.

You can’t rise above your thinking.Your success or failure in life depends on how you think.

God calls you a soul because what happens in your soul determines what happens in your life. If your soul is bitter in your thinking, then you will live in bitterness, if your soul is happy, your spirit and body will begin to enjoy the sameProv. 4:23.

You need to guide your soul very well by guiding your thinking 1 Cor. 2:4, Prov. 4:23.

Training your soul to think right - Deut. 6:5, Jos. 22:5, Is. 55:2, Deut. 11:18

Each day, you must cultivate the habit of storing theWord of God in your heart. You have to develop a disciplined form of thinking. You must not allow negative thought to dwell long in you. Each day, educate your mind in the Word of God and in positive thinking 2 Cor. 4:16. Allow scriptures to enlighten your heart and put your mind in the right and proper shape through which good things can happen to you. On daily basis, you must improve on your thinking.You must instruct yourself in the word of God by constantly speaking to yourself.You will rehearse scriptures and put your mind in shape for God to work in you.

You are called a human being,because you have a great potential. Within you is the God’s giving ability to conquer your world, to solve your problems, to overcome all your hindrances in your environment and to be a success Judg. 7:13-25. All these can only be possible if you have a big mind and think bigGen. 1:28-31.

Giant are huge problems of life that look overwhelming, but your thinking will let you overpower them. The lower you think about your problems, the more easy you will be able to solve it1 Jn. 5:12-15.

There is the divine ability in you to make your problems go through prayer and your thinking.

This life is all about solving problems. You can’t live on earth without having things you need to resolve. In actual fact, every face of life, requires you to solve one problem or another. When you pass through those things, then you move on the ladder, otherwise, you remain stagnant where you are.

So we mustn’t run away from having giant.Just have a mindset that no matter how big, how great, you will be able to overcome.

Goliath is always there- 1 Sam. 17; 21:9, Jn. 16:33, Jn. 15:18-21, Job 14:1, Jn. 14:27, Job 3:26, Deut. 4:30, Rm. 2:12, Job 5:7.

In life, Jesus says you will have tribulations. You have tribulations that you fight like Goliath fights David. Problems are always there in life. Mention anyone in this life that has no problem and you will find none. For a man that is born of a woman is full of trouble. But thinking can let you trouble your troubles. By thinking through a solution,you bear confidence in problem solving 1 Jn. 4:4 you destroy the fear of that problem like David did against Goliath. The pangs of problems that you are face with cannot overwhelm you, if you have a big bible thinking. Your Saviour came here on earth into a world of Goliath, but he slew them. You can do better than you are doing right now. Caleb said we are well able to overcome it Num. 13:30-32 others say they can’t overcome it, so they couldn’t overcome it and died in the wilderness with those problems Num. 13:1-33.

Do you know that the difference between a giant and a gain is thatit stands for your thought? If you think something is big, it gets big, if you think it is small, it gets small.If you see a mountain and you look at it as being small then you can climb it, but if you see something big and vast and you look at it like an elephant, then you won’t be able to overcome it. Think like a child of God, think possibilities. Think solution.

Gift of thinking - 1 Cor. 7:7, 1 Tim. 4:14, 1 Pet. 4:10, Mt. 22:2-6, Lk. 17:20-21

What makes us human, is the ability to think. When you are a believer you are given the resources of prayer and faith in addition to the faculty of thinking 1 Pet. 4:12-14. This is why God gives you a soul and a brain. The solution to any of your problem is within you Lk. 17:21, Jms. 4:13-17. Jesus says the kingdom of God is within you 1 Pet. 5:7. You must start to think about it. By this, I mean that you deliberately focus your attention on a way to overcome that obstacle. You set aside a time in the day or in the night when you think about it with pen and paper and prayer using the three pieces. As a Christian, you set time for prayers andquiet time. In addition, you must set a time cap for thinking. So there is praying time.There is bible reading time.There must also be a thinking time Jms. 4:7-10. You need to write down all the thought that God gives you during your thinking time. You need to set your thinking especially if you have not been used to thinking before. You must understand that your mind is a goldmine mind that will be prayerfully programmed to provide you with a solution to solve problem you have. Therefore look on the inside of you and believe that God is going to be able to give you a way out of any predicament that you have find yourselfLk. 17:21.Think but think big. Think solution. Think success. Think blessing. Think righteousness.

Grasping the thinking process- Lk. 17:20-22

Thinking is subject to series of actions that you take to achieve result. It is dealing with a problem through a channel. It is developing a course of action which revolves during your thinking time. Thinking allows you to grow and outgrow a problem. It sets the stage for a solution to what you are faced with. So you need to guide your thought during this time and understand that solution must come.

Don’t let your culture, environment or background be an obstacle. Turn to the Lord in grasping the thought process and all your thinking. Believe that you can and you will. There is no problem that has no solution.

All problems can be solved by thinking.All problems should be solved by thinking.All problems must be solved by thinking.All problems will be solved by thinking.

Giving up is not an option–Is. 35:2, Heb. 12:12, Is. 2:19, Prov. 13:12, Job 4:5-9, Job 17:7-16.

The fact that you don’t have a solution to a need now does not meant that you are going to admit the defeat. Don’t abandon any situation because you are overwhelmed. This is not time to back down or bow out. You are a child of God and not a chicken. No problem should cause you to collapse, find a way to prayerfully think them through Is. 35:3, Heb. 12:12-13.

There is always a despair when you have made so many effort and you don’t see a solution. Some people at this junction may resign themselves to fate or they submit and surrender to the problem.In one language they throw in the towel. But don’t do it.A true believer must be a fighter.You must fight for your right and privileges in the Lord.You must hold out to the end, you must stand up and withstand any obstacle that may be coming your way. At this point in your life, giving up is not an option. Keep praying, but find some time to deliberately think about the problem and in the cause of time, solution will come, if you do not give up. Sometimes, the thinking will allow you to see the big picture and come up with something positive. All problems have at least a solution.

Gravity of confession – Rom. 10:9, Mt. 10:32, 2 Cor. 10:3-5

What you speak in your thinking period is very crucial and can have positive or negative consequences based on what you say. You must understand the significance of speaking God’s word. In order that you might think in the right thought, you must speak some words to yourself such as, I can think through this problem. I can solve this problem, such as I can and will overcome.God is on my side, I will go through, Jms. 4:15. Don’t fall into the trap of making your mind very free to allow for negative information from the devil. You must bring all thought that you will have in normal and critical terms to be subject to the word of God Jms. 1:2-8. You must be strict in what you allow to pass through your mind. If Gods word is there, you are sure that sooner or later you will overcome. See it as a life and death issue.See it as something of great consequence. You need to see the severity of holding on to a positive confession in order to enhance a positive thinking process.

Prayer:

1. Grasshopper mentally, be cancelled in my mind
2. All negative effects of evil thoughts which I have allowed in time past, be nullified in Jesus Name.
3. Every Goliath standing before my destiny, be brought down by angelic sword.
4. I declare and confess it that it is well with me.
5. Holy Ghost of God strengthen my inner man to overcome battles of life.

STUDY 3

THINKING AS SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE THINK

Text: Ps. 37:4, Ps. 1:1-6, Jms. 4:10, Phil. 15:13, Jos 1:5-9, Gen. 39:2-6, I Kg. 2:3, Prov. 20:7-10, Jos. 1:8

Most of us want a favourable outcome in life. We want to achieve some goals.We are not satisfied with remaining stagnant.We take joy in advancing. When we set goals, we want to arrive there.We want to attain some level.We want to eat something good in life, and we want to do well. There are those who are seeking eminence, fame, walking in flying colours. To other people it is just having good life all the time.The happy days, they want to live in lap of luxury.Progress is one of our major desires in life.We want prosperity.We wanrt to be successful.In battles we want to triumph.With problems, we want to walk over. When we face challenges we want to win.Nobody wants to be a failure in life.