How to Overcome your Thoughts | Ps. Julian Gamba

Our minds are a battlefield, and the thoughts we allow into our hearts will shape our future.

In Psalm 77, Asaph honestly expressed his fears, doubts, and questions. But instead of staying trapped in negative thinking, he chose to remember the goodness and faithfulness of God.

In this message we learned:

✨ Negative thoughts can distort our view of God.
 ✨ We should not make permanent decisions based on temporary emotions.
 ✨ Despair wants to steal our hope, but hope is found in Jesus.
 ✨ Change begins when we change our focus.
 ✨ Victory begins when our thoughts change.
 ✨ God's power is greater than our limitations.
 ✨ We can replace negative thoughts with God's truth.

👉 Don't allow negative thoughts to control your future. Place your eyes on Jesus and live with hope.

Transcript

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So we're we're talking about the book of Psalms in this during this uh series, and uh I want to talk about how to overcome thoughts that make you wanna give up, how to overcome your thoughts, and this is uh a theme that uh it's been on my heart for a couple of months now, and I I told you about a month ago, I told you be careful with your thoughts, be careful with whatever goes into your mind, because it if you take care of your mind and your heart, everything will be fine. Uh, the Bible says that in uh in our minds there is the the power in our mouths also, there is power of life and death, and everything we speak comes out of our heart, so we need to take care of our heart and our mind. And I wanna I wanna talk to you guys about how to overcome your thoughts. And how many of you sometimes have like bad thoughts? Like uh thoughts of uh, let's say um everything is gonna go wrong for me. Or uh I thought I will be married by now. I thought my marriage will be different. Don't raise your hand if you want to stay married. But I know some of us have thought, like, oh my gosh, I thought it would be different. I thought God will answer sooner. Anyone with that? Yeah, maybe another one. I thought this diagnosis will never happen to me. You go to the doctor, you receive the results, and you're like, oh no, not me. I never thought I'll go through this. Or I thought my best days were behind me, not ahead of me. And uh, some of us think, oh, my best days are in the past. When I was younger, when when I was uh single, everything was better. When I was going through this, when I was in this city, when I was back in this place, everything was better. But let me tell you, that's a lie from the enemy. And if we learn how to take care of our minds, then we will take care of our future. God will take care of our future. How many of you can say amen? Amen. So let's do our declaration. If you know it, uh repeat it with me. If you don't, it's on the screen. Say Jesus is first in my life, his word is my guide, and I am what he says I am. He called me to be sold and liked on this earth. His mission and purpose will be fulfilled in me. Amen. Amen. Amen. Praise the Lord. Well, I found something funny, but it's not that funny. But just because it's Father's Day, it's kind of like a dad joke. So a boy asked his dad, Dad, are you an empathetic person? The dad replied, Of course, my son. The boy continued. Are you open to dialogue? Yes, answered the dad. The boy kept asking, will you say you're a conciliatory person? The dad said, Absolutely. Are you quick to forgive? Yes. Then the boy said, I'm glad to hear that, because you're going to need all of those qualities when you find out why I got spelled from school. So we're gonna talk about Psalm 77 today. Psalm 77 and then verse 2, it says, When I was in distress, I sought the Lord. We need to seek God when we're going through difficult times. And when our minds play games, we need to remember and we need to seek God in those moments. Our minds are like the battlefield. And constantly we're receiving thoughts, we're talking to ourselves continuously. I don't know if it has happened to you, but sometimes you're like talking to yourself out loud, and you realize you're like, oh, am I talking to myself? Have you seen people talking to themselves walking in the street? I have. And we're constantly like in constant communication with ourselves. We're talking to ourselves, speaking, thoughts come uh continuously to our minds. Uh, you know, sometimes you wake up and a thought comes. Oh, today's the worst day ever. Maybe one of those thoughts that I mentioned, like, oh, I thought I'll be ahead in my life, in my financials, or in my education, or in my family, in my life, and I'm here stuck. And those thoughts control the outcome of our life. So we have a decision continuously to make. Do we accept those thoughts? Do we keep working with those thoughts, or we reject them and we replace those thoughts with God's word? And and that's what uh Asap, who's the author of the psalm, is thinking. He thinks in the in the first nine verses, he's thinking all negative. Uh, we read those those five first uh nine verses, he said, I cried out to God for help, I cried out to God to hear me when I was in distress. I sought the Lord at night, I stretched out untiring hands, and I would not be comforted. I remember you got and I groaned, I meditated, and my spirit grew faint. You kept my eyes from closing, I was too troubled to speak. So he was like, you know, when your team loses, you don't want to talk to no one, right? Or when something happens, you're in distress, like you're afraid because something is could happen, or those thugs come, you can't sleep. That's what this uh author was going through. He couldn't sleep, he didn't want to talk to anyone, he was just isolated, and then it says, I thought about the former days, the years of long ago. I remembered my songs in the night, my heart meditated, and my spirit asked, Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promised, has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has his anger withheld with his compassion? So in these nine verses, he's struggling with himself, with these thoughts. God has forgotten about me. And and you know, when when something is going on in your life, you're thinking, oh, this only happens to me. Why? God, you forgot about me and me that I serve, that I go to church every Sunday, that I serve in the church. I even lead a group, and this happens to me. He's struggling. So if you've been struggling, let me tell you, you're not alone. But we have the answer here. So wrong thoughts cause us to misinterpret God, to think the wrong uh character about God. So three mistakes of negative thinking, number one, it could be personal. You think the Lord has rejected me, He doesn't like me, He doesn't want me. It could be a permanent pattern that you're going through. That's the number two. It will you think it will never change. Like this situation will never change. I'm stuck in this. Or it could be it could be a persistent thought saying everything is ruined. Like it it's not even worth it to fight. It's not even worth to fight for it. So when you're driving through thick fog, it happens here in Orlando sometimes during the winter. You're driving sometimes. I'm taking my kids to school during like the winter, and as you're driving, you can't see anything, it's just fog. And you have to drive really slow, and the road kind of like disappears, right? You're uncertain, you have to drive slow. If you drive fast in fog, you do have to slow down. Let me tell you from experience, and you simply can't see the road. It doesn't mean that it's not there, it just means that you cannot see it now because of the fog. Sometimes in your life, you're gonna experience moments like that. You don't see the road, but the road is there. God will open a way, God will open the path for you, and he will guide you in every step of the way. Amen. So the the teaching here is don't make permanent decisions based on temporary emotions. You know, he was going through the emotions, so he's like, God, you forgot about me. And so many people make decisions based on those temporary emotions. They make uh firm decisions, long-term decisions based on the temporary emotions. So, my advice to you, the teaching today is do not allow the enemy to make you take those decisions based on temporary emotions. And we're gonna see how everything changes because the enemy wants to bring you into a feeling of despair. And despair is just a difficult moment where you have no hope. So, hope is our gift, our foundation as Christians. We have hope that Jesus will come back for the second time. We have hope that when when we die, that is not the end. We're gonna have eternal life and we're gonna be with Jesus in heaven. Amen. If you believe it, praise praise God. But the enemy wants people to live with no hope. So last week, as we were on vacation, we started a conversation with someone, and as she was there, she started talking to us, and uh she had a son. And as as soon as I started speaking to her, I noticed that she had no hope. Everything we said, she turned it into a negative comment. Oh, it's so dark, it's not it's not gonna rain. So I I saw an opportunity to share my faith, and I was like, great, this is my opportunity to preach to this lady. And as I started talking to her, she's like, Yeah, and no, if I die, my son will be alone. It's just me and my son. We're alone, and no one, no one really cares. I have no help, I have no one to take care of me. And men, she she was divorced, and she said, Men are the worst. I'm like, thanks. And and then she realized, she's like, No, no, no, but you're okay because you I see you guys have a great marriage, and but I I I see that for me that is that is not not what I want. And uh I noticed that she didn't have any hope. And uh I thought, what a sad life to live with no hope. And as Christians, we have the greatest gift, which is hope, hope in Jesus Christ, and this is what this uh the author realized that he has he had hope in God, Romans 15, 13. It says, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him. So, in the middle of a trial, in the middle of a battle in your in your mind, in the middle of something that you're going through, let me tell you, you can have joy, you can have peace because God has placed hope in your life, in your heart. You can have hope. Amen. In the in the New Living Translation, it says, I pray that God, the source of hope, He is the source of hope. Outside of God, there is no hope. Maybe you can be positive, and that's good to be positive, but it's different to be positive than to have hope because when you have hope, you're always expecting that it could happen, that God is coming, that the miracle is coming your way, that God will never leave you alone. And it says the source of hope will fill you completely with joy and peace. So some people are tired, some people are confused, maybe some of you are discouraged, but you're still here, and if you're still here, God is still working. Do you believe that? Do you believe that God's still working? So change begins when we change our focus. When we change our focus, change begins to happen. So if we look if we look at verses 10 and 12, that's when change comes. He's thinking all these negative things, he's writing this song. He was a songwriter, his family, they were all songwriters, they were all uh priests in the temple. He was appointed by David, he served under David, and then he served under Solomon as well. And as he was struggling with those thoughts, he realized, and and this phrase really caught my attention. Verse 10 of Psalm 77, it says, Then I thought. Say with me, then I thought. Again, then I thought. In in another version, the New Living Translation it says, But then I recall all you have done. So, two things here. In the first verses, he's thinking all of these negative things, but then verse 10 he says, then I thought, then I realized, then I started thinking of the goodness of God. Then I thought, before he thought it was over, before he was saying, I thought God had abandoned me, I thought there was no hope, but then he says, Then I thought, then I thought about his miracles, then I thought about his faithfulness, then I thought about his promises, and everything in him started changing. The psalm didn't end on a sad note, on a on a difficult note. He ended the psalm on praise and worship, knowing that God is good, his mercy endures forever. God is a God of miracles, he is good. So, victory didn't begin when the situation changed, victory began when his thoughts changed. So, my encouragement for today is allow God to transform your thinking. I I I told you about a couple of weeks ago that I was going through this situation with my health, and the number one thing that has kept me believing, going, like keep that has kept me going is hope in Jesus Christ. Is my thoughts because my thoughts are not in what the doctor said, my thoughts has been in what the word of God has said. Amen. Praise Jesus if you know He's good. He said, Then I thought, then I thought sometimes when when the enemy wants to bring those negative thoughts, you go through the rabbit hole of those thoughts, and and you allow the enemy for a moment to you know tell you things, and you think, well, I'm never gonna, I'm never gonna get married. I thought that I was in a kind of like in a relationship that didn't go well. Everyone knew, everyone in church knew about it, and that when that relationship ended, I thought, I'm never gonna be, I'm not never gonna get married. No one wants to be with me. I felt terrible, I felt like the worst, but then I thought God has been good to me, He will be good to me. He has answered my prayer in and many times, He will answer my prayer this time. So I fasted for 14 days, and that's a famous story of Pollo Tropical. I went to Pollo Tropical, I got on the last day I got my plate with chicken, rice, and beans, and I was so excited to break that fast because it had been 14 days with just water. I was so skinny, I'm praying to be back to that super skinny. But at the end of that fast, as I sat down, I started thinking of the goodness of God. I went to get my lemonade, and when I got back, a bird was eating my chicken. No lie. Then I said, This only happens to me. God, I was fasting. Why I had no more money to get another plate of quarter chicken with rice and beans, which at the time was $4.99. So I just jumped in my car and I started thinking about the goodness of God. And I said, God, you're good. I praise you. And I turned the the stereo on, I put some worship music, and I was praising God. I started crying, and I said, Lord, thank you because I'm alive. Thank you because I know you have a future for me. Thank you because I know the same God that has done miracles is the same God that is with me today, and as amen. And maybe I don't see it today, but I know I will see it. And by the grace of God, probably a year, a year later, a year, a year and a half later, this beautiful lady started chasing me. Look at this, and I'll I'll finish with this Psalm 77 2. It says, I stretched out my hands. That's the first part we started reading. He said, I stretch out my hands, but now look at verse 10. In verse 10, he says, The most high. Stretch out his right hand. So don't look at what you have. He he started looking at oh my hands. Let me tell you, your capacity is limited. But when you start placing your sight in Jesus, when you place your eyes in Jesus, you know that his power is endless, that he's the most powerful person in the whole world, and he has your back. You have a God that fights for you. Amen. Amen. Praise Jesus. Amen. So keep keep the hope that God is with you. Keep the hope that He's with you and He will be with you. Verse 19 of Psalm 77 says, Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, through your footprints, we're not, though your footprints were not seen. God leads you sometimes in places where you cannot see what's gonna happen. We you don't even see God in the middle of the situation, but when you allow Him to take control of your mind, when you allow Him to take control of your thoughts, then you have peace and joy even in the middle of the storm, even in the middle of the trial. And the end of Psalm 77, it says, The clouds poured down water, the heavens resounded with thunder, your arrows flashed back and forth, your thunder was heard in the whirlwind, your lighting lit up the world, the earth tremble and quake. So he he finished the song astonished at God's power, recognizing that God's power is unlimited. Maybe your situation wants to limit you right now. Maybe your thoughts want to limit you right now. But when you look at God at the greatness of the Lord, then you have faith, then you have hope. So I encourage you this week live with hope. Hope for great things. Hope that tomorrow will be better. Hope that God is with you even in the middle of the trial. Hope that He will walk with you. Hope that your family will be saved. Hope that your marriage will get better. Hope that you will live a life of holiness, that you will live for Jesus, that you will live for him. Hope that you will be in heaven. Amen. Praise Jesus, praise God, praise God, amen. I want to invite you to stand for a moment. And as we stand, I encourage you to live with hope. Live with hope. Hope is the gift that God has put inside our hearts. Hope is a gift that if we believe in Jesus, our hope will grow. Don't allow your mind to take control with negative thoughts. Allow Jesus to change your mind. So I want to invite you to place your hand over your heart and say, Jesus, thank you for dying on the cross for me. Thank you for paying the price. Because through your sacrifice, I can have hope for the future. I can have hope for my life. Thank you, Lord. And now with your hand over your heart, just say, Lord, thank you. Because I can transform my thoughts, and today I declare that my mind is free of all negative thinking, all the thoughts that the enemy wanna put in my heart, every thought that is not from you. I declare that I'm free from those thoughts, and I allow God's word to come into my life because Lord, you are the king of my life. Help me, help me, Lord, with my thoughts, and maybe you're going through a difficult time right now. Maybe you're going through a time of despair. Let me tell you, there is hope in Jesus. There is hope in Jesus. If you pray today, if you ask him, he will come and he will bring hope into your life, he will bring faith into you, and you will have thoughts of victory. The thoughts of a conqueror because that's what you are, that's what Jesus made you through his sacrifice on the cross in the name of Jesus. And now with your eyes closed, with your hand over your heart, I want you to repeat after me say, Lord Jesus, I invite you to come into my heart and be the king of my life. I give you my heart and I ask you to cleanse my heart, my mind, and my body. Write my name in the book of life and never erase it. I give you my life in the name of Jesus. Amen and amen. Praise God, praise God, amen. I'm gonna finish with one thing. And today as you enter, you were given a cup. And we're gonna partake of the Lord's Supper. Maybe it's easier if you take your seat, maybe it's I don't know if that's easier, but maybe it's it's easier like that to open the cup. So just open open the cup. If you don't have one, if you need one, we have some of the team members will will bring you one. I want you to take this with uh respect and uh reverence that God and the Lord's supper really takes. So in the last day of Jesus, the last days, he went with his disciples to a very small place, to a very, very tiny place, low ceiling, and he said to them, This is my body, and he showed them the bread and he said, Take this as you remember me. Okay, so when you take this, remember the sacrifice that I uh I did on the cross. So his disciples took the bread, and as they took it, they were partaking of the body of Christ. So today, as we take the Lord's supper, as we take the bread, we're remembering his sacrifice that his body was punished for our sin, and we take it remembering his sacrifice on the cross and all the benefits that we get. So take the bread in your hand and say, Lord, thank you for the sacrifice that you did on the cross for us. Thank you because through your sacrifice today we have new life, all sicknesses and infirmities you took on your body for us to be free and healthy right now, and we declare it in the name of Jesus, and we take it, amen and amen. So you're gonna take the bread. Now you're gonna take the cup, and the cup represents or actually is the blood of Jesus. So when Jesus took the cup, he said to his disciples, to his disciples, this is my blood. So Jesus is establishing a covenant with us, a covenant that he will be with us every day, and his blood cleanses our heart, our body, and our mind from all sin. So we take it in an added attitude of gratefulness. So take the cup in your hand and let's pray, Lord. Thank you, because through your blood we obtained victory, as Revelation 12 10 says, we have overcome by the blood of Jesus, and we take this cup giving you thanks for the sacrifice, and because through your blood we have a new life, through your blood, we're cleansed of every sin, and we take it thanking you, amen, and amen. Let's take the cup, amen, and Lord, thank you for this opportunity that we have to partake of the Lord's Supper. Thank you, Jesus, because we have new life and we have hope in the name of Jesus. Amen and amen. If you if you have hope, praise God. If you have hope, praise Jesus.

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