3 Habits That Make Christians Mentally Unbreakable (Do These Daily)

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Transcript

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Welcome to the Success by the Book Podcast, the place where Christians who want to experience the extravagant goodness of God in all areas of their lives come from mentorship. I am your host, Dr. Inn, and I'll be unpacking the secrets I have learned from the Word of God over the last two decades. Let's dive in. I am going to show you three very simple daily habits that will have you rise above mental anguish, above anxiety, above worry, above frustration, um, above analysis paralysis, where you'll take your mind from being a weapon that works against you to being a weapon that works for you, a powerful tool that works for you. Okay, so I am a physician. I'm not your physician, okay. And if you are a medication for anxiety or depression or whatever, I'm not in any way saying you should stop that. Okay, but I am showing you mental habits that will put you on top, mental habits that will put you back in control, mental habits that will turn your life right side up, no matter how good it is. Okay. So this is gonna be absolutely amazing, okay? All right. So products typically come with instructions. Okay. Products come with instructions, and when you violate the instructions, you don't get the results or you destroy the product. Okay. So think about a car. Okay, so there's a car, and in this car, it's not a it's not a Tesla, so it's not an it's not an it's not an electric car. It's it's a car that needs gasoline to run. Okay, so they're like, this is the gas tank, and we want you to put gasoline in the gas tank. That is an instruction. That is an instruction that will let you get the most out of the car. Okay. Now, what if I say, well, it's my car, I bought it with my money, and I'm gonna do it my way. And my way is I'm not putting gasoline in that. I'm gonna put kerosene in that, I'm not putting gasoline in that, I'm gonna put up water in that. That's what I want to put in it, right? If I do that, what will happen to my car? Okay, so we have instructions that go with products, and in order to get the most out of the product, we have to follow the instructions. It was Miles Monroe who said that if the use of the thing is not, the purpose of the thing is not known, that abuse becomes inevitable. Okay, so you can abuse something that was designed for you to win. Our minds are the same way. Okay, so we don't put gasoline in our minds, but the Bible is an instruction manual that tells us how to use our mind. And it doesn't tell us how to use our mind to limit us, to restrict us, to cramp our style. It tells us how to use our mind because if we want to get the most out of our mind, we have to use it according to the instructions. Okay. Many times we have Christian minds that are not working because we are not using it according to the recommendations given by the manufacturer. But that problem is going to be solved today. Okay. Today. And at the end of today, not only will you lose the negative impacts of not using your mind properly, you're going to gain so much on the positive side, like what the results you're going to be able to create with your mind. Okay. Now, I am going to start from a scripture that you have read many, many, many, many times. But I want to tell you, don't approach it like you've read it. That is the worst way to come to the word of God. Because you can read one scripture every single day from now to the day you die, a hundred years from now, and you will still pull revelation every single time. Okay, so we're going to approach this as people who are hungry, people who want to know more, people who want to lean in, people who know there's more wisdom to be had in the word. We're not going to say, Oh, I know that scripture. Nope, it didn't. We're not going to do that. Okay. Okay, so let us go to Philippians chapter four, and we're going to do some reading, discussion, pull out wisdom, change in real time, all of that. And the thing we're going to talk about is so powerful. Hear me. If you are a person who prays a lot, you're a person who prays in the spirit, you're a person who comes on the rise and shine. If you do all of these things, you must also gain mastery of this thing because this thing has the potential to cancel out some of the things you pray for. And we're not going to have that anymore. We're done with that. Okay. Okay. So let's start with verse 4. So Philippians chapter 4, verse 4. I am reading, I'm going to be reading from the New King James version. Okay. New King James Version. It says, rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say, I will say, rejoice. So rejoice in the Lord always. This is an instruction. This is a commandment. And you must understand that the instructions and commandments of God are given to us for our good. It is given to us for our good. So rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice. Now I looked up the root word here for this word rejoice. It's a word that's Cairo, right? C-H-A-I-R-O. Okay. Hopefully that's the right pronunciation, but it's Cairo. It means to be joyful. It means to be glad. I want you to imagine that God said, re like, be joyful, be glad in the Lord always. So when is the time not to be glad? There's never a time. When is the time not to be joyful? There's never a time. We are not rejoicing in circumstances. We are not rejoicing in our power and might. We're not rejoicing in ourselves. We are rejoicing in the Lord. This is a habit that is so good for your mind. Okay? This is a habit that puts your mind in a peak performance state. This is a way, this is a habit that puts you in a position to be above the worry and anxiety and all this stuff that comes from everyday life. It is an instruction for victory. What is the instruction? Rejoice. Rejoice in what? In the Lord. How often? Always. And in case you missed it, Paul then said, again, I will say, rejoice. Okay? You might say, Dr. Una, but you don't know what's going on in my life. And you're going to, we're going to look at what we need to do with the things going on in our lives in a second. But first of all, we are going to rejoice. We're going to be joyful. We're going to be glad. Okay? In what? In the Lord. Why? Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness. Because, okay? Because, because God, I want you to think about it. You can rejoice in God because of who he is. God is, he's our Father, right? But he is also the creator of the heavens and the earth. And he is also the great physician, Jehovah Rapha. He is also our provider, Jehovah Jirah. He's also God, our defender. He's also the one who helps us. He's also the one who's a consuming fire. He's also the one who is the sovereign Lord. He's also the one whose government was and is and always will be. He's that God. He's all powerful, all-knowing, all-wise. He's the almighty. He's the one whose words are yea, and amen. And he's not just a God, he's our God. And he's not just our God, but he's our father. When can we rejoice in this? Every single day, all day, every day, and twice on Sunday. We can rejoice in him for who he is. We can rejoice in him for what he has done for us. Oh my goodness. Like if you're a mom here and you look at your kids, he saved you for every delivery. He gave you the gift of those children. He gave you the gift of your spouse. He gave you the gift of your job. He gave you the gift of life. You're able to move around and you're in no pain. He gave you health. Like he has done so much. If we would just stop to see what he has done, there is always a reason to rejoice in the Lord. And as if that is not enough. God is the one who sent his son, his only son, to die for us, and you can say die for us, but he died for me. He sent his son to die for me so he could redeem me, so I could become his daughter. And he really saved me from the kingdom of darkness. You have to understand, the kingdom of darkness is run by a king, little k called Satan, and his job is to the Bible says in John 10:10 that he comes only, when he shows up, he comes only to do these things: to steal, to kill, and destroy. This was the person who was my boss back in the day before I got saved. This was the person who had authority over my life, someone whose only agenda, only agenda was to steal from me, to kill me, and to destroy me. And God said, Let me save her. Let me save Dr. Una. I don't think God calls me Dr. Una, He probably calls me Neka, but let me save her and let me put her in my kingdom. And my kingdom is run by a king, John 10 10 says, who wants me to have life and have it more abundantly? No killing, no stealing, no destroying. He sent his son to die for me so that he can fill me with his Holy Spirit. Like the spirit in God is God, and that spirit lives on the inside of me. Like, when is it time not to rejoice in in the Lord? Never, never. We can always rejoice. He is too good for us not to rejoice. But why is this important? Did you notice that the more we rejoiced in him, the smaller our challenges got, the more we rejoiced in him, the bigger our God seemed. Our God is always big, but it's our perception. Our perception was more. And we're like, wait a minute, he's my healer, he's my helper, he's my defender, he's my strong tower, he's my fortress. Like, wait a minute, right? And you look back, you're like, oh my goodness, look at all the things he's done for me. Look at all the things he's done for me. Like, this is so amazing. Do you see how it puts you in this state? Like, if you rejoice in him, then you have to be full of joy. If you rejoice in him, he seems bigger in your eyes, and your problem seems smaller in your eyes. It is good for your mind, it is therapeutic for your mind. It is a healthy habit for your mind to rejoice in an atmosphere of rejoicing and celebrating the Lord. Your mind is put in a peak performance state. Okay, so when you find yourself falling into the trap of ingratitude, falling into the trap of not rejoicing, your mind cannot be in a peak performance state. It can't be. It cannot be. Okay, so when we uh we rejoicing is is is a tactical weapon that you have to put your mind in the best state possible. Like even the your life, your circumstances could stay the same, but if you will pick up rejoicing, one is that they won't stay the same for long because God inhabits the praises of his people. And the Bible says that the mountains melt like wax in the presence of the Lord. So when you're rejoicing, you're activating the presence of God, and when the presence of God is activated, mountains are melting like wax. So everything changes when you start rejoicing. But even if, even if things haven't changed yet, if you rejoice, your perception of the thing will be different. Your perception of it will be different. You will let go of the chaos, you will let go of the frustration, you let go of the anguish, you let go of all of those things, right? Because you're like, my God, look at what he can do. And you start remembering he brought me out of this, so he can bring me out of this. Ten years ago, he did this for me, and so he can take me out, he can, he can tell help me take care of this. He came at the last moment, he was never late, he came right on time. The last time I had a challenge like this a year ago. So, guess what he's gonna do today? He's gonna show up for me, right? And so, oh my goodness. Our job is to rejoice in the Lord, not once a day, not twice a day. Always, always, and again I say rejoice. So, what is the first habit? Rejoicing and rejoicing in the Lord, and rejoicing in the Lord always. Strategy the habit number one: rejoice in the Lord always. Rejoice in the Lord always. In fact, when challenges come up, you know what you can do? You can find out the dimension of God that is the answer to that challenge and start praising him. Like you start feeling pain in your body, and all you're like, but there is a day I had this unbelievable pain in my shoulder. And I just take a walk and I start singing, you are the Lord that heals me, you're the Lord that healeth me. I find all these songs that praise God, the healer, and I'm rejoicing in him. Rejoicing in him. Okay, it's amazing, so amazing. Okay, the reason I'm taking the time to explain this, this is not some soft thing we do, this is not something we do because we're religious Christians who love to, you know, say all this Christian names. No, we rejoice in the Lord always, we celebrate him. You find yourself in need, you start celebrating El Shaddai, the all-sufficient God. You start celebrating Jehovah Jireh, God, my provider. You start recalling all the times that He has provided for you, and you start thanking Him for those things. Like you go, like rejoicing is a weapon. It is a weapon that we have. It is a weapon that we have, it is a weapon against depression, against anxiety, against mental anguish, against frustration, against feelings of hopelessness and all of that. It is a tool he has given us. So even in the face of challenges, what do we do? We rejoice. We're not rejoicing in the challenge, we're rejoicing in our God, our God who can pull us out of every challenge, our God who says the path of the just shines brighter and brighter. Our God, our God who said that all things work together for our good. Our God who said, I am your helper, I will help you. That's who we rejoice in. We rejoice in Him. Oh, we rejoice in Him. I will rejoice in the Lord always. Always, always. Okay, so that's number one. This is not a soft thing, this is a game changer. You must understand that the principles of God and the strategies of God are simple. They are simple, but they're profound. They are simple, elegant, classy. But my goodness, the results they will get you will blow your mind. So from today, when things look great, rejoice. When things look challenging, rejoice. When you're not sure what to do, rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord, in the Lord who will pull you out of every challenge. In the like you have a goal that is a big goal, right? You praise the big God who makes all things possible, who said he'll help you, who gave you his spirits, who can give you wisdom, who can give you mentors, who can give you divine helpers, who can give you uh divine speed, who can give you favor and all you rejoice in him. So every time you feel you're like, oh my goodness, this goal we have is too big, whatever, whatever. Instead of doing that, rejoice, rejoice in the one because it may be big for you, it is not big for him. Okay, all right, Dr. Una, you're so excited, so excited. All right, so that's number one, rejoice. And we're not just rejoicing, we're rejoicing the Lord, and we're not just rejoicing the Lord, we're rejoicing the Lord always. So when is a good when is a time where God understands? He's like, Oh, yeah, you know, she's going through this, so we will not she doesn't need to rejoice. Never, there is never a time. The instruction is rejoice always. The instruction is rejoice always. The instruction is rejoice always. Okay, okay, beautiful. Okay, so let's keep reading. Philippians chapter 4, verse 4. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice. Okay, now we're gonna skip verse 5 and we're gonna go to verse 6. And verse 6 says, be anxious for nothing. The first time I read it, I said, Lord, I don't know if you know what it's like on earth. We got reasons to be anxious, okay? Be anxious for nothing. So, what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna pull up this scripture um on my phone because I want to read it to you in a number of different translations, and I want you to hear it for you. I don't want you to, you know, I don't want you to think, oh yeah, you know, it's just some spiritual thing. No, no, no. Hear it in the context of your life, okay? All right, so let me read it in a number of translations. Pay attention to this. So, New International Version. Do not be anxious about anything, do not be anxious about anything. Your mind was not designed to harbor anxious thoughts. The instruction from the manual is be anxious, do not be anxious about anything. So when we sit and meditate and brood on anxious thoughts, we are abusing our mind. Our minds can't handle, our minds can't perform in a peak performance state in the face of that because it's not designed to handle that. And you might say, but what am I supposed to do? We'll get to it. Okay. But first of all, we have to have a heart of obedience. Imagine yourself living a life where you are anxious for nothing. If God said it and he gave it to us as an instruction, it means that he has equipped us to do it. We have to believe it, we have to obey it, we have to lean on him for strength, and we have to put in the reps. We have to put in the reps so we can grow into this. I will not be anxious about anything. About anything. So the question is, how do we do it? But we we obey it. Okay, that's new uh international version. New living translation says, Don't worry about anything. So, in God's economy, what would make God say, you know what, girl, that's so serious. You should worry about that. There's nothing, there is nothing, there is nothing, there's nothing now. With us on our own, maybe we should, but we're not on our own. We're in partnership with God, we're God's children, we're called by his name. We have the angels, we have the blood of Jesus, we have the name of Jesus, we have all these things. He says, Don't worry about anything. What now? Let me know if you're my cousin, okay? Because I back in the day when I'd read this, I'm going like, Lord, it is the responsible thing to as an adult to worry about things. This is the responsible thing to do, okay? Okay, so let's keep going. Um let me see what the amplified says. Okay, it says, do not be anxious or worried about anything. Do not be anxious. God's word translation says, never worry about anything. Like, don't do it. Never worry. Never worry. Okay, okay. So don't worry, don't be anxious, be careful for nothing, be anxious for nothing. It's like, what? Okay, so let's let's read this. And I'm gonna read it in one more translation after I'm done with this. It says, be anxious for nothing. So this brings us to the question, okay. So if we're not supposed to be anxious, what are we supposed to do? Because I thought, like as a responsible adult, I should be anxious and worry about things that I can't handle because you know we have to figure this thing out. Be anxious for nothing but right, but so do something about it, but not that. Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. Okay, now let me read this in the message translation. Um because we're gonna sit here for a bit, because if we get this, our lives are just gonna be so much better, like so much better. Okay, and we'll stop abusing our minds, right? Okay, this is what it says in the message translation. It said, don't fret or worry. Don't fret, don't worry. Instead of worrying, okay, so now we have options. This is a is like a multiple choice question option. A worry option B pray. It says don't fret or worrying or worry instead of worrying, pray. Option listen, we have a choice, we don't have to worry, we can choose to worry or choose to pray. We can we have these two things, so you can keep worrying or you can pray. You can keep worrying or you can pray from today. Whenever something happens, something that you should like a good human being, worry about. What are you going to pick? Understanding that you have a choice. You can worry, which is abuse of the mind, or you can pray, which is putting your mind in a peak performance state. Which will you pick? A or B. Which will you pick? A or B. I will worry or I will pray. I will worry or I will pray. I will worry or I will pray. Okay? Okay. So I see so many of you picking. So every time something comes, something you used to worry about, something you're worrying about today, you're gonna say, huh, I don't do that anymore. Now I pray. Now, it is not any kind of prayer. Let me read this to you. Pay close attention. Okay, I'm gonna read it in multiple translations, but pay attention to this because we've missed this here. It says, be anxious for nothing. So I'm back in your King James, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. Okay, so it's not just prayer, like, oh Lord, I pray to you, whatever, help do something. It said, take that thing you are worrying about or you are anxious about, convert it into specific requests, and bring those requests to me in prayer and with the heart loaded with thanksgiving. So it's not just random prayer, it's take the thing you are worried about, convert it into specific requests, and make those requests known to me in an atmosphere of thanksgiving. Okay? Because why is this important? Because sometimes we can be tempted to murmur and complain and think it's prayer. Lord, I've been trusting you for a husband. I've been waiting for three years. I went to church every week, I've been sowing, I pay my tithe, and I still don't have a husband. How long, Lord, am I going to have to wait? That is complaining in the name of Jesus. That is not prayer. What do you want, Lord? I want a husband. Okay, but I've been waiting. Okay, Lord, I've been waiting. You are faithful. Open my eyes to see what I'm missing. Is there something I'm supposed to be doing now? Or am I just supposed to wait? Is it just a gestation period? I just need to wait. But I thank you and honor you because I know you're always faithful and I know you always deliver, and you've always been faithful all my life. You've been good to me all my life. This will not be different. Open my eyes, Lord, to see. Lord, I'm I'm waiting, and sometimes this fear shows up. Lord, show me how to handle this fear that you know my clock is ticking and I won't find anybody, and all of these things. You it has to be specific requests, not complaining in the name of the Lord. It's not having temper tantrums in the name of the Lord. So take that thing that is creating worry or anxiety and flip it. Lord, I've been trying to take this business to two and a half million. And it looks like I'm hitting my neck, I'm hitting my head against the wall. Lord, open my eyes to see what am I missing? What is the strategy? Lord, I need to hire this kind of team member. I don't even know where I could find them. Help me, Lord, find this. Help me. But it's specific and is asking like I'm looking for a solution. It's not a it's not a whining time. Right? My child, Lord, I have this fear that's just been here that it won't turn out right. Show me what to do. Or a child is acting like doing the most is, and you're like, you can go to God and say, Lord, I hold you to your word. You said that my children will be taught of you and great will be their peace. You said that the generation of the children of the godly that they'll be successful everywhere. You said that children are like an arrows in the quiver of a mighty man, and that they will answer the enemy in the streets. You said you are the God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You are a generational God. And the way you're working in my life, you are also going to show up in the lives of my children. And I thank you for it, Lord, in the name of Jesus. Do you guys see that? Like, we come to God knowing that God has answers for us, that we've come to the place of breakthrough, that we've come to the place of the person who will help us. We have come to the place where all solutions exist. We don't come to whine in the name of the Lord. Okay. So let me read it from the message translation. Same verse. So Philippians chapter 4, verse 6 from the message translation. Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petition, oh, this is so good. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. How beautiful is that. So instead of worry, pray, but don't just, you know, you pray in the spirit. You just pray in the spirit and walk away, like hopefully God does something. No. Like, and I'm not saying don't pray in the spirit, like pray in the spirit, but but take the thing, the specific thing that was creating the worry and create specific prayers. Because think about it, you don't just worry about your life. Like, what's going on? I'm worried about my life. No, Satan feeds you pictures, feeds you pictures of you going to take the exam and you fail the exam, and because of that, you couldn't graduate with your classmates, right? Or he shows you that, oh, you're gonna get this disease, and you like, you know, like cousin Joe had, and you know, and cousin Susan had, and then you're gonna die before the age of 60. Then he shows you, you know, you driving to work and getting into a car accident. These things are all specific. They're all specific. And in the same way, your prayer needs to be specific. Okay? So turn your specific worries into specific prayers. Okay? And you might be going, like, what's what's what what I you know, I just worry about everything. No, you don't. When you wake out, when you wake up at 3 a.m., you broke out in a cold sweat because you remembered something, what was that? Convert it to a prayer. When you were okay and you saw somebody's name on your phone, and all of a sudden you became sad, convert it to a prayer. You remember your business and you're just loving everything, and all of a sudden you became sad, you became frustrated, you became afraid. That's something. Capture it and turn it into a prayer. We take those things instead of just letting them sit in our heart and we're like, okay, I'm gonna show up and pray to God, and you know, God will help me, and God's grace will kind of show up and it'll kind of go away. No, take the thing you you could have been worried about and pray. Okay, okay. Now let me show you the outcome. When you do this, let me show you what happens. It says, be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, this is the consequence. The peace of God, we're not even in a different verse, and we've already gone from worry to peace. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, like people be like, How could you possibly be peaceful in a moment like this? The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and mind. So listen. If we worry, we don't create the peace that will guard our mind. But if we pray and we pray about presenting our request to God with thanksgiving, the result is the peace, not just any peace, but the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard our hearts and guard our minds through Christ Jesus. So if I will not pray, I will not have a guard over my mind. If I don't have a guard over my mind, the enemy can walk into my mind anytime he wants, because there's no gate, there's no guard, there's no door, there's no protection, it's just an open field. Like whoever will come have a field day in my mind. The peace of God will guard my mind, which means I will no longer worry, I will pray, knowing that when I pray and present specific requests and do that with thanksgiving, the result is peace and is the peace of God. And that peace of God guards my mind. In this time when the mental health crisis is at all-time high. What is one of the things we need? A guard over our mind, the peace of God guarding our mind. The peace of God guarding my mind. You threw something at me to worry about, I'm gonna throw it at God, and God is going to, in exchange, give me peace. So when it when a thought-provoking worry comes to you, treat it like a hot potato, it lands on your hands, you throw it, you throw it off immediately. Convert it to prayer, send it up to God, get the peace of God, and let it guard your mind. Let it guard your mind. So, after this call, I want you to take inventory of the things that have worried you, the things that create anxiety, the things that make your heart race, the things that make you lose sleep, and you are gonna present those things to God, and you're gonna do you're gonna with prayer, with supplication, and you're gonna do it with thanksgiving because you're not doing like complaining. We know like we're not complaining at God, like he's not faithful, he didn't do this for me. We don't do that with God. We don't, we don't do that with God. He's our helper, he's our source, he's our sustainer, he gives us peace, he gives, I mean, like he gives us everything we need. So we go to him, go to him with the attitude like he's gonna solve this and with thanksgiving. Okay, so what is the first habit? Rejoicing in the Lord always. What is the second habit? Pray about everything specifically, pray about everything specifically. Pray about everything. How long does it take to pray about something specifically? Not that long. We just need to have the intention. Instead of sitting and being afraid, oh, how would my children turn out? Present them to God and present with a heart of gratitude, knowing that God will do what he said. Instead of worrying, oh, that person died young, that person died young, that person died, present it to God. Present it to God and then thank him because he said, With long life, I'll satisfy you. Right? Okay, so the peace of God, the peace of God. We will, I will, I choose to live in the peace of God, which means I'm a person who prays specifically and I'm a person who rejoices. I choose to live in the peace of God. Why would I choose worry and anxiety when the peace of God is available to me? I choose to live in the peace of God. I choose to live in the peace of God. Okay? Okay, so now, if you are somebody um who is on Horizon Shine, and if you're not on Rise and Shine, you have to come join us. But now, if you're on Horizon Shine, Arise and Shine is a prayer meeting we do every morning at 6 a.m. Eastern. Um, it's online, it's on Zoom, um, Zoom, Facebook, YouTube, but it's the best place to be every morning at 6 a.m. Eastern. When you look at this, you understand why we do what we do, and you can then partner with God and with us to even do it at a higher level. So you notice we never start the prayer meeting with prayer requests. We start the prayer meeting with gratitude, with rejoicing in God, we're rejoicing about how blessed we are because we have him, rejoicing what he's done for us, rejoicing who he is. That is why. So sometimes people tell me, oh, you know, that's the preamble. I'll come when the prayer actually starts. No, no, the prayer starts from when the prayer starts. It starts from rejoicing in the Lord. What are we doing? We're practicing rejoice, we're building that muscle of rejoicing, right? Okay. And then you'll see times when we say, okay, what is the biggest challenge you're having in your life? Convert it to a question. Bring that question before God and let's obtain answers. This is the reason why we do that. So the things that worry you and frustrate you and make you anxious and all of those things, you can get rid of them. You can let go of them and get answers and move on. What are we doing? We're building the muscle, practicing Philippians chapter 4, verse 6. Okay. So if you are a person who comes on the rise and shine, but you come late after we're done rejoicing, come and rejoice. Okay. If you're a person who comes on the rise and shine, and when we put up the slide and we're like, okay, ask God for this, you're like, man, I don't know if I want to do that. You are practicing praying specific prayers, right? And so if you're here and you don't come on the rise and shine, I want to invite you to come join us, dcgeorgia.org forward slash prayer every morning at 6 a.m. It is the way to set up your day in the presence of God, build a prayer muscle, build community, um, and get your life changed every day. We show up on the rise and shine and we leave different every single morning. Okay, every single morning. So come join us. And if you used to come and you stopped, come back. Okay, all right. Okay, so let's keep reading. Let's keep reading. So we've looked at rejoicing and rejoicing in the Lord always. That's the habit. It's not rejoicing once a week, it's not rejoicing doing praise and worship on Sunday, it's rejoicing the Lord always. Okay, and the second habit is praying about everything specifically. Pray about everything specifically. You have specific things that worry you, take those specific things, convert them into prayer, and pray them specifically with thanksgiving. Okay, now let's go to verse eight. So I'll start from verse four. I'll read it over. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice. Verse six, be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your heart and minds through Christ Jesus. Now, verse eight. Finally, finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things. Now, the word meditate here talks about focusing your attention on, it talks about fixing your attention, pondering on something. Okay, okay. What this means is your mind, the instruction manual that came with your mind states that you cannot ponder on everything. It states that you cannot sit and brood on everything. The man will give you eight categories of things you are allowed to brood on. Now, you can then choose to brood on anything you like, but if you brood on things that don't line up with these eight things, you are abusing your mind, and your mind cannot be in a peak performance state. It cannot be. It cannot be, it cannot be the powerful tool God made it to be. It will then become a weapon that the enemy will use against you. Let me stop here and say this. Okay, this is important. There are many things that have dual purposes depending on who is using them. Okay. When you have um you have a gun, for instance, right? In the hand of an ethical police officer, it is for protection, and it is powerful for protection. In the hand of a criminal, it destroys lives and destroys families, is the same instrument. It can powerfully help or powerfully destroy. Okay, okay, let's look for something even less like that. A car is a powerful, powerful tool. Like if I wanted to, if I wanted to go somewhere that was four miles away, it might take me an hour of walking. But if I took a car, it would take me a few minutes. The car gives me speed. But a car in my hand will create speed. What if I gave the car to a four-year-old to drive? The car then becomes a weapon. Forget the four-year-old. What if I gave the car to someone who was drunk to drive? It becomes a weapon of mass destruction. It's the same car. Okay. Your mind in the hand of God is a powerful tool. The Bible says, guard your heart with all diligence, for it determines the course of your life. It is a tool in the hand of God that God you can mount the word of God in this mind, and it becomes a tool that constantly is directing your life in the direction of what God said about you in His Word. It's powerful. So God says, Thou shalt not forget the Lord your God, for it is He that gives you power to make wealth. You load that here. He said, By the stripes of Jesus, you are healed. You load that here. With long life, I will satisfy you. Load that here. You are the light of the world. You are the salt of the earth. You load that here. You are a masterpiece created to do good works. I planned in advance for you to do. You load that here. You have um, I've made you kings and priests, and you'll reign in the earth. You load that. You're loading all of these things in your mind, knowing that when I put this in my mind, my mind is so powerful that once it takes in my mind, it will determine the course of my life. And so my life is moving on autopilot, autopilot based on what is on the inside of it. So in the hand of God, your mind is a powerful tool that will make you a sign and a wonder, that will make you everything God called you to be. I think that's so amazing. We should just throw up emojis and celebrate. Okay, so throw up your emojis, celebrate. That's in the hand of God. There is also a thief. His name is Satan. The Bible says in John 10, 10 that he has come to still kill and destroy. Actually, it says he has come only, he's a focused devil, only to still kill and destroy. And what he does is what he did to Eve in the garden. God said one thing, he'll come and say, Did God really say? Did he really say? Right? And so he then tricks you into taking the same mind, and you're brooding on thoughts like, Well, what if I die early? Well, what would early be? Maybe at 56. And then when I die at 56, what will happen to my children? Oh my goodness, and my husband will remarry and they'll have a stepmother. And then like he's hijacked your mind. And you're abusing your mind by allowing it to harbor thoughts that don't line up with the word of God. Well, you know, I you know, I've just been through so much. Like I'm just a nobody. Chapter what? Verse what in the Bible? That is a demonic thought. It's crazy. Well, they can win. I'm not the kind of person that wins. That's crazy. You're made in the image of God. You're a son, you're a daughter of God, you're a king and a priest, you're called to reign in the earth. Say, well, you know, if if if I can just pay my bills, I'm okay with that. Why? Why would you say that when the Bible says I like you don't forget? Get the Lord your God, it is He that gave you power to create wealth. What are you talking about? That's a demonic thought. And the problem is once you start brooding on that, your your mind determines the course of your life. So by yourself, with your mind, you partnered with Satan to make the will of Satan in your life a reality. Oh, I will never find anybody to help me. What do you mean? The earth is the Lord and the fullness thereof, the world and all the people in it. All the people in the world belong to your father. How many helpers could you possibly need? He owns eight billion people. You probably only need four. What? Okay. So why am I saying this? I'm saying this because you must understand that your mind came with a manual. And that manual dictates the kind of thoughts you are allowed to brood on, the kinds of thoughts you're allowed to meditate on, the kinds of thoughts you're you're allowed to stay in your mind. When you have a picture of your kids not turning it right, you're not allowed to brood on that thought because it's not in line with the word of God. When you have pictures of Diamond Young, you're not allowed to brood on that thought because it's not in line with the word of God. When you sit and you're brooding over the mistakes you made five years ago, the Bible says, is there anything praiseworthy? Please, is that praiseworthy? If it's not praiseworthy, you are not allowed to brood on those things. You brood on the word of God and who God said you are and where God said He's taking you. That's what you brood on. Okay. So finally, brethren, whatever things are true, not facts, true. What is true? The word of God. Different from facts. Facts are subject to change. Okay. So some may look at my life and say, Oh, Dr. Una, look at all the mistakes you made and all this stuff. God says, You're a masterpiece. The fact is, I may have made some mistakes. The truth is, I'm a masterpiece. And if I will brood on I'm a masterpiece long enough, my circumstances will line up with it. You're not allowed, like if you are a person who has chosen to be an obedient Christian, you are not allowed to brood on things that do not line up with the word of God. It is abuse of your mind, it destroys your mind and it makes your mind a destroyer. You put in your mind things that will destroy your life. Destroy it. Thoughts of failure. Chapter what, verse what in the Bible? Bible says this book, like you met this person's delight is in the law of the Lord and he meditates on it on day and night, and whatever, whatever he lays his hands to do prospers. So, where did you get this whole failure thing from? But if you brood on failure, you will fail. If you brood on getting sick, you will get sick. If you brood on cancer, you will show up. God forbid. Well, we gotta stop this. You're only allowed to think these eight categories. If it doesn't fall in these categories, you're not allowed. You're not allowed. Is it true? If it's not true, if it's not in line with the word of God, you're not allowed to brood on it. It's a thought that can come and it goes away and all, but sit and brood, you're not allowed to brood on it. Um you're doing something, this thought comes. Nothing ever works for me. No, that's from the pit of hell. Why would you think that? You have God your helper. Okay. So things that are true, things that are noble, things that are just, things that are pure. So when you sit down, you're brooding about how you're gonna hurt somebody, what you're gonna say to them, how it's gonna make them feel, and all of that stuff, that demonic, child. You're not allowed. Ain't nothing pure about that, ain't nothing lovely about it. Stop it. Stop it. Okay, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of a good report. If there's any virtue, and if there's if there is any praiseworthy, meditate on these things. And while you're trying to figure out, okay, I have to memorize these eight things, while you're at it, take the first one. Whatever things are pure are true. If it doesn't line up with the word of God, thou shall not brood therein. Okay, I gave you the King James Version. If it doesn't line up with the word, thou shalt not brood therein. Don't. When you start, and you know, in the beginning, we don't realize that our minds are assets given to us by God. Like this is God gave you an asset. He said, See, see this asset, see this tool? Take the word of God, install it in it, and it will determine the course of your life. It's an automation. In this AI generation, people are so crazy about automations. This is the automation God gave you. Take the word of God, put it in your mind, and it will automate your life. Because what you put in your mind will determine how you think, it will determine your expectations, it will determine your attitude, it will determine your action, it will determine your results. It is the automation of God. Take the word of God, put it here. Anything that's not the word of God, don't let it in. Do not automate Satan's will. When you take things that don't line up with the word of God and you're brooding on them, you are creating an automation for the kingdom of darkness that Satan's will on autopilot will be working in your life. What? Don't do it. Don't do it. So because we didn't know this, we don't pay attention to what we're thinking. We just think we think like that's just the thing. We don't have control over it. You have control over your mind. It is your asset, it is your mind, it belongs to you. And the Bible said, guard it with all diligence. Okay? Okay, so start paying attention to what you brood on. And anytime you find yourself worried, anxious, fearful, frustrated, overwhelmed, um, um, hopeless, that is your indicator that you've been brooding on something that doesn't line up with the word of God. And so you immediately stop. Why am I stressed out? Why am I overwhelmed? Why am I why am I so angry? Why am I so fearful? If you trace it, you'll find the thought. When you find the thought, you go to the word of God, pull the antidote and dethrone that thought immediately. Why? It is abuse of the mind. It is abuse, it is like water in your car, in your gas tank of your car. You cannot let it stay there, it will destroy your life. It will destroy your life. You're meditating on all the people who want to hurt you and all the haters. How can you be meditating on haters? You have haters and you have God your helper. Like if you want to meditate on something, meditate on God your helper. Why are we why why are we meditating on the haters? I mean, a hater is somebody who hates. So haters who hate, why are we shocked by haters hate? That's their job. That's their job, but you're a guard over your mind, guard your mind.

unknown 52:02

Right?

SPEAKER_00 52:03

Finding joy in the garden says, mind the mind. Yes. Okay. I know, I know I'm yelling at all of y'all, but just because I don't want you having all these demonic automations in your life. So while you're learning the eight categories, start with one. If it doesn't line up with the word of God, do not brood on it. It will kill your life. It will kill your life. Remember, Satan has one agenda, still kill, and destroy. That's it, like three-part agenda, but it's the same thing. So if you let his thoughts see, if you let words that don't line up the words sit, you are automating stealing, killing, and destruction of your own life. No, no, can do. No, ma'am, no, sir. This is why you must be comfortable talking to yourself. When the thought comes, you die young. Open up your own mouth. Oh, God satisfies me with long life. My testimony will be like the testimony of Abraham. And he was well stricken in years. Give it to them in King James. Real stricken in years, and God had blessed him in every way. Oh, and this sickness is gonna come. By the stripes of Jesus, I am healed. That same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead dwells in my mortal body and it gives life to my mortal body. And the same way, before you imagine cancer going through all your body, imagine the spirit of God going through your entire body, revitalizing, giving life to every part. When he shows up places that were dead or places that were sick, they get new life. Right? Yeah, God is my physician. If God, if physicians can heal diseases, how much more the person who made the body and with whom nothing is impossible? God is my physician. And when I show up in prayer and worship and study in the word, the physician is at work in my body. Brood on that. Brood on that. You brooding on, oh, oh, all this debt, all this debt, and all the investments I didn't make and all the time I wasted and all. How is that helping your life? Your mind is given to you to change your life. Now you're using it to make sure the way your life is is the way your life will always be. No, ma'am, no, sir. You're like, wow, I will not forget the Lord my God, for it is He that gives me power to make wealth. I am a person who goes after wisdom, and with wisdom comes riches and honor and treasuries that are filled.

unknown 54:43

Right?

SPEAKER_00 54:44

Like, say something. Say something. Well, your mind is giving to you to turn your life right side up and to make your life a sign and wonder, and to automate the will of God in your life, and automate your success, and automate you being a king and a priest, and automate you reigning in the earth, and automate your dominion. Do not let Satan hijack it and use it as a tool for your destruction. Automate destruction. Nah, God forbid. Okay, so what do I want you to do? Very simple. I want you to practice. So so the third habit is meditate on truth only. Meditate on truth only. If it doesn't line up with the word, please do not deploy your mind to engage with lies, engage with things that don't line up with the word, engage with the will of Satan. Do not deploy your mind for that. Do not don't do it. Don't do it. Okay. So I want you to practice these habits. Practice, number one, rejoicing in the Lord always. Practice it. You're like, oh, I don't do that. It's not a problem. We practice, right? So practice rejoicing in the Lord always, number one. Number two, practice praying about everything specifically. So take inventory because we've done this on autopilot for so long. Take inventory of the things you used to worry about, convert them to prayers. Convert them to specific prayers. Ask God for help. He wants to help you, but you have to ask. The Bible says you don't have because you don't ask, right? So practice, practice praying about everything specifically. Then number three, practice meditating on truth only. Sit down, it won't kill you. You've sat down and you've watched a two-hour movie before, right? Now it's time to sit down and make five-minute movies. Take the word of God, make a movie. Oh, with long life, he satisfies me. And then travel. See your 30th birthday party, 40th, 50th, 60th, 70th, 80th, 90th. See your children, your grandchildren celebrating you, walking with the Lord, doing exploits in the name of the Lord. Think of the joy you feel, all of that stuff. Paint the movie, create the movie, then watch the movie, buy tickets to the movie if you must. But do that. And you might say, it doesn't take all that. Hello, you've been doing this with worry. That's what you've been doing with worry. Now you're gonna flip because you're designed to meditate. Every human will meditate. The question is on what? Right? On what? So this is now you intentionally, you're imagining that. Right? Maybe you're here, you're sick, and there's pain. And just stop and then imagine being healed. Imagine using that part of your body. Imagine being free. Imagine all the things you can't do right now. Imagine yourself doing them. Imagine you're getting your clean bill of health. Imagine running. Imagine doing all of these things. You can take it further. Imagine that in the process of getting this healing, you get an understanding of the healing anointing. And then God now uses you to heal other people who have what you have. Like, what do it? Your marriage is in chaos. My goodness, imagine, imagine the heart of the wife turn back to the husband, the heart of the husband turn back to the wife. Imagine you can speak to each other kindly. Imagine you can honor. Imagine you celebrating whatever anniversary is next, and then 10 years after that. Imagine you guys just laughing. Imagine you guys doing things together, conquering territory together, doing all of those things, right? And as you do that, you're like, oh, so how do I show up in that marriage? You look at how you show up, then you start showing up like that, right? He asked God for strength. Oh, Lord left to me. I just want to smack him right upside the head. I'm gonna walk out of here. And then you ask God, Lord, help me. Help me, help me, and he'll help you. And you can have a brand new story. And what did you use to do that? The mind God gave you, used it as the asset is designed to be to turn your world right side up. Your mind likes rejoicing, rejoice in the Lord always. Your life, your mind does not like worry and anxiety, stop stressing out your mind. Pray instead. Okay? Your mind can handle certain kinds of thoughts. Thoughts that are true, that are noble, that are lovely, that are praiseworthy, that have virtue, that are just. It can't handle trash. Your mind cannot handle trash. Stop putting trash in it. Stop putting trash in it. What is trash? What doesn't line up with the word of God is trash. It may even be good, it's trash. Oh, people say, ooh, you know, the second marriage is always better than the first. Trash. That is trash. Oh man cheap. Trash. Oh, we're we're not supposed to have money. We're supposed to be humble Christians. Trash. It doesn't line up with the word of God. That is why you must read this book. How are you gonna know what's trash or what's not trash if you don't read the book? So as you read the book, you're like, oh, oh, oh, I've had this thought here. I thought it was good. That trash. You must read this book. You must pray for understanding of this book. You must read this book. You must read this book. Otherwise, you will unknowingly put trash in your mind, which will create trash in your life. And then you're like, where's God? Why is all this happening to me? I'm a good Christian. A good Christian, Christian means disciple. A good Christian is a disciple. A disciple reads the word and the disciple thinks on the word. So, yes, be a good Christian. Yes, be a good Christian. Okay. This is the deal. If you will do this, you would have created an automation system in your mind that will make sure that your world lines up with the word of God. That when people look at your life, they will call your life a living epistle. So this is an epistle that's on paper. It's not like your spirit and it's life, but on paper is just paper. But your life is the real, is the Bible that is alive that people can read because you took this Bible and you installed it in your asset. You created, you created an automation, and now your life starts looking like the word of God. Every aspect, your walk with God, your ability to hear from God, your hunger for God, your family, your health, your ministry, your finances, your the your intellectual development, your network, everything begins to look like a sign and a wonder because you created an automation. So your job is to create the automation. Take this word, put it in this mind, take all the things Satan said, keep it out of your mind, and your life will become a sign and a wonder. And I cannot wait to celebrate it with you. So let's go start doing it. And we are going to be blown away by who we become. If this has helped you in any way, I would love for you to join the movement and share this episode with your friends, family, and the Christians in your world. By doing this simple thing, you could be changing the trajectory of someone's lives, their family, and their community. That makes you a world changer and they will love you forever.