As I stated in Part 1 of this message, everything in God is increase, advancement, and promotion. There’s nothing in God that’s in the backward direction. So we shouldn’t be okay if we are not increasing. Things in our life shouldn’t stay the same year after year. There should be increase, because faith in God’s Word will promote us – it won’t leave us where we are at. It would help us to evaluate the fruit in each arena of our lives to make sure we are advancing.
For us to advance and be promoted, our thinking must advance. Right thinking positions us for promotion and increase. We can’t be promoted if we have wrong thinking. Wrong thinking hinders us and robs from us.
We must be TEACHABLE if our thinking is to change. Proverbs 21:2 tells us, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes….” We aren’t safe just being self-taught. That’s why God gave us a pastor and the other fivefold offices.
People that are teachable will listen. If we think wrong and refuse to listen, the mind will keep truth from entering into our spirit. We must listen if the Word is to help our thinking.
Romans 12:2 instructs us, “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” The Amplified Classic translation reads, “Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect[in His sight for you].”
As we renew our minds by feeding and acting on the Word of God, our lives are transformed into something we’ve never been before. Miracles, the gifts of the Spirit, and healing lines bless you, but it’s the Word and being a doer of it that transforms your life into something that it has never been before. A renewed mind is not just mentally agreeing with God, but it includes acting in line with the Word. The mind is only renewed in a particular arena once we are acting and conducting our lives in line with the Word in that arena. We must renew our minds to what the Word says in every arena. In the Amplified translation, notice the word “entire” renewal – every arena addressed – notjust some of the arenas of life. This is a life-long process that must happen every day for the rest of our lives.
Third John 1:2 reads, “Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in every way and [that your body] may keep well, even as [I know] your soul keeps well and prospers” (AMPC). Notice, this verse connects our physical prosperity and our financial prosperity to the prosperity of our soul – the renewing of the mind. Our prosperity doesn’t begin with money, but with a renewed mind. “Beloved, I pray that you prosper and be in health even as your SOUL prospers” – not as your FAITH prospers – but as your SOUL. Faith is important, but it won’t take the place of having a renewed mind and right thinking. In all your getting of faith, don’t overlook getting right thinking, which comes from renewing the mind. Your mind will either shut down the flow of faith or cooperate with the faith in your heart.
A Renewed Mind — Our Greatest Defense
Our greatest defense against the enemy is a renewed mind. The mind is Satan’s chief battleground. The reason that Satan attacks the mind is because he knows if the thinking is wrong, the believing and speaking will be wrong. By attacking the mind, he can automatically affect every other arena of our lives. Every attack that comes will also be accompanied by an attack on the mind – to try to get us to think wrong. His whole intent is to get us thinking wrong because then our believing and speaking will be wrong.
The Word calls the devil, the “old deceiver.” That deception happens in the mind. The devil can’t do anything to you anytime he wants – if he could, he would just go ahead and do it. But he can’t – that’s why he has to try to deceive you first. He has to get someone thinking wrong to gain entrance. When someone thinks right, the devil has no place of entry.
Isaiah 26:3 tells us, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace,whose MIND is stayed on thee....” Faith isn’t mentioned here in connection with peace – the mind is. How do we know that we’re thinking right regarding a particular arena of life? Two ways: 1) if we are advancing in that arena, and 2) if we have total peace and joy regarding that arena. A lack of peace and joy is due to wrong thinking. Wrong thinking leads us to wrong believing, wrong speaking, and wrong actions – which rob us of peace and joy. Right thinking removes all struggle from life. Ourlives today are a picture of how we think.
We need to realize that thoughts come to our minds from two different sources; the thoughts that come to our minds do not always originate in our minds. The devil brings thoughts against our minds from the outside. That's one source. The thoughts from God come from within us; they come up from within our spirits into our minds. As we renew our minds with the Word, we are able to distinguish which source a thought flows from.
97% Are Living Beneath
Thinking right will enlarge what we reach for. Some don’t think they deserve much – that’s wrong thinking. We don’t want to be satisfied with too little when God offers us so much. God told my husband, “97% of My people are living beneath what I’ve provided for them. You ought to be able to live a whole year without touching your savings, just living out of your cash flow. If a pastor needed to build a new building, a congregation of 200 ought to be able to give $1M in one service without touching their savings” (that’s 100 people giving $10,000).
Giving is a struggle for some, not because of money, but because of wrong thinking. There are Christians that are good givers, but they aren’t prospering; they don’t think right toward money, and that wrong thinking is hindering their increase. Many times, their motive and intent are wrong.
If an arena of your life is not increasing and prospering, address that arena with the Word – further renewing of the mind in that arena is called for – that will bring advancement. Those who take the Word, renew their minds, meditate on it, let it govern their thoughts and actions, and become doers of it are the ones that will rise to the top.
Right thinking doesn’t just promote us, but it helps usmaintain what’s laid hold of. Everything we receive from God, the enemy is busy trying to steal it from us. It’s wrong thinking that opens the door for him to steal from us. Wrong thoughts include: doubt, fear, unforgiveness, offense, etc. But he can’t steal from us if we are thinking and speaking right, and it’s the Word of God that offers us right thinking.
Let’s take the thoughts of the Word and make them ours – forthe Word will bring promotion, advancement, and increase in every arena of our lives.