Controlling Your Mind and Thoughts

Controlling Your Mind and Thoughts

Your thoughts and imagination are very important because they direct your heart. Your words and actions will follow the thoughts that you have planted in your heart.

(Gen 6:5-6) Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. {6} And the LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

(Deu 15:9-10) “Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, ‘The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,’ and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the LORD against you, and it become sin among you. {10} “You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand.

(Josh 1:8-9) “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. {9} “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

(1 Chr 28:9) “As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you; but if you forsake Him, He will cast you off forever.

(Psa 1:1-3) Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; {2} But his delight is in the law of the LORD, And in His law he meditates day and night. {3} He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

(Psa 4:3-5) But know that the LORD has set apart for Himself him who is godly; The LORD will hear when I call to Him. {4} Be angry, and do not sin. Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah {5} Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, And put your trust in the LORD.

(Psa 10:3-4) For the wicked boasts of his heart’s desire; He blesses the greedy and renounces the LORD. {4} The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God; God is in none of his thoughts.

(Psa 19:13-14) Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression. {14} Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer.

(Psa 48:9-10) We have thought, O God, on Your lovingkindness, In the midst of Your temple. {10} According to Your name, O God, So is Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness.

(Psa 49:11-13) Their inner thought is that their houses will last forever, Their dwelling places to all generations; They call their lands after their own names. {12} Nevertheless man, though in honor, does not remain; He is like the beasts that perish. {13} This is the way of those who are foolish, And of their posterity who approve their sayings. Selah

(Psa 50:19-23) You give your mouth to evil, And your tongue frames deceit. {20} You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother’s son. {21} These things you have done, and I kept silent; You thought that I was altogether like you; But I will rebuke you, And set them in order before your eyes. {22} “Now consider this, you who forget God, Lest I tear you in pieces, And there be none to deliver: {23} Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; And to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.”

(Psa 63:3-8) Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, My lips shall praise You. {4} Thus I will bless You while I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name. {5} My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, And my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips. {6} When I remember You on my bed, I meditate on You in the night watches. {7} Because You have been my help, Therefore in the shadow of Your wings I will rejoice. {8} My soul follows close behind You; Your right hand upholds me.

(Psa 64:1) Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

(Psa 64:6-10) They devise iniquities: “We have perfected a shrewd scheme.” Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep. {7} But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; Suddenly they shall be wounded. {8} So He will make them stumble over their own tongue; All who see them shall flee away. {9} All men shall fear, And shall declare the work of God; For they shall wisely consider His doing. {10} The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and trust in Him. And all the upright in heart shall glory.

(Psa 73:12-18) Behold, these are the ungodly, Who are always at ease; They increase in riches. {13} Surely I have cleansed my heart in vain, And washed my hands in innocence. {14} For all day long I have been plagued, And chastened every morning. {15} If I had said, “I will speak thus,” Behold, I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children. {16} When I thought how to understand this, It was too painful for me; {17} Until I went into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood their end. {18} Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction.

(Psa 77:6) I call to remembrance my song in the night; I meditate within my heart, And my spirit makes diligent search.

(Psa 77:11-14) I will remember the works of the LORD; Surely I will remember Your wonders of old. {12} I will also meditate on all Your work, And talk of Your deeds. {13} Your way, O God, is in the sanctuary; Who is so great a God as our God? {14} You are the God who does wonders; You have declared Your strength among the peoples.

(Psa 94:11-13) The LORD knows the thoughts of man, That they are futile. {12} Blessed is the man whom You instruct, O LORD, And teach out of Your law, {13} That You may give him rest from the days of adversity, Until the pit is dug for the wicked.

(Psa 104:33-34) I will sing to the LORD as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have my being. {34} May my meditation be sweet to Him; I will be glad in the LORD.

(Psa 119:15-19) I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. {16} I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word. {17} Deal bountifully with Your servant, That I may live and keep Your word. {18} Open my eyes, that I may see Wondrous things from Your law. {19} I am a stranger in the earth; Do not hide Your commandments from me.

(Psa 119:23-28) Princes also sit and speak against me, But Your servant meditates on Your statutes. {24} Your testimonies also are my delight And my counselors. {25} My soul clings to the dust; Revive me according to Your word. {26} I have declared my ways, and You answered me; Teach me Your statutes. {27} Make me understand the way of Your precepts; So shall I meditate on Your wondrous works. {28} My soul melts from heaviness; Strengthen me according to Your word.

(Psa 119:57-60) You are my portion, O LORD; I have said that I would keep Your words. {58} I entreated Your favor with my whole heart; Be merciful to me according to Your word. {59} I thought about my ways, And turned my feet to Your testimonies. {60} I made haste, and did not delay To keep Your commandments.

(Psa 119:97-99) Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. {98} You, through Your commandments, make me wiser than my enemies; For they are ever with me. {99} I have more understanding than all my teachers, For Your testimonies are my meditation.

(Psa 119:147-149) I rise before the dawning of the morning, And cry for help; I hope in Your word. {148} My eyes are awake through the night watches, That I may meditate on Your word. {149} Hear my voice according to Your lovingkindness; O LORD, revive me according to Your justice.

(Psa 139:1-3) O LORD, You have searched me and known me. {2} You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. {3} You comprehend my path and my lying down, And are acquainted with all my ways.

(Psa 145:5) I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, And on Your wondrous works.

(Prov 4:23) Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.

(Prov 12:5) The thoughts of the righteous are right, But the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.

(Prov 15:26) The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD, But the words of the pure are pleasant.

(Prov 16:1-3) The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. {2} All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, But the LORD weighs the spirits. {3} Commit your works to the LORD, And your thoughts will be established.

(Prov 23:7) For as he thinks in his heart, so is he. “Eat and drink!” he says to you, But his heart is not with you.

(Isa 55:6-11) Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near. {7} Let the wicked forsake his way, And the unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon. {8} “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. {9} “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. {10} “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, {11} So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

(Isa 65:2-3) I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, Who walk in a way that is not good, According to their own thoughts; {3} A people who provoke Me to anger continually to My face; Who sacrifice in gardens, And burn incense on altars of brick;

(Isa 66:17-18) “Those who sanctify themselves and purify themselves, To go to the gardens After an idol in the midst, Eating swine’s flesh and the abomination and the mouse, Shall be consumed together,” says the LORD. {18} “For I know their works and their thoughts. It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory.

(Jer 6:19) Hear, O earth! Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people; The fruit of their thoughts, Because they have not heeded My words, Nor My law, but rejected it.

(Jer 17:9-10) “The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? {10} I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.

(Jer 29:11-13) For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. {12} Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. {13} And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

(Amos 4:13) For behold, He who forms mountains, And creates the wind, Who declares to man what his thought is, And makes the morning darkness, Who treads the high places of the earth; The LORD God of hosts is His name.

(Micah 4:11-12) Now also many nations have gathered against you, Who say, “Let her be defiled, And let our eye look upon Zion.” {12} But they do not know the thoughts of the LORD, Nor do they understand His counsel; For He will gather them like sheaves to the threshing floor.

(Zec 8:16-17) These are the things you shall do: Speak each man the truth to his neighbor; Give judgment in your gates for truth, justice, and peace; {17} Let none of you think evil in your heart against your neighbor; And do not love a false oath. For all these are things that I hate,’ Says the LORD.”

(Mal 3:16) Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, And the LORD listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the LORD And who meditate on His name.

(Mat 5:8) Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.

(Mat 9:4) But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?

(Mark 7:18-23) So He said to them, “Are you thus without understanding also? Do you not perceive that whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, {19} “because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?” {20} And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. {21} “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, {22} “thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. {23} “All these evil things come from within and defile a man.”

(Mark 12:30-31) ‘And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment. {31} “And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

(Luke 21:12-15) “But before all these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name’s sake. {13} “But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony. {14} “Therefore settle it in your hearts not to meditate beforehand on what you will answer; {15} “for I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries will not be able to contradict or resist.

(Acts 8:21-22) “You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. {22} “Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you.

(Rom 1:20-21) For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, {21} because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

(Rom 2:15-16) who show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and between themselves their thoughts accusing or else excusing them) {16} in the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.

(Rom 12:1-5) I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. {2} And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. {3} For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith. {4} For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function, {5} so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.

(1 Cor 3:19-20) For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness”; {20} and again, “The LORD knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.”

(1 Cor 8:1-3) Now concerning things offered to idols: We know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love edifies. {2} And if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. {3} But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.

(1 Cor 10:12-13) Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. {13} No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

(1 Cor 13:4-7) Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; {5} does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; {6} does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; {7} bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

(2 Cor 10:4-5) For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, {5} casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

(Gal 6:3-4) For if anyone thinks himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. {4} But let each one examine his own work, and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.

(Eph 3:19-21) to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. {20} Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, {21} to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

(Phil 3:12-15) Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. {13} Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, {14} I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. {15} Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.

(Phil 4:6-8) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; {7} and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. {8} 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.

(Heb 4:12-13) For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. {13} And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

(Heb 8:10) “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

(James 1:26-27) If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. {27} Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.

(James 4:6-10) But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” {7} Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. {8} Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. {9} Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. {10} Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.

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Forgiving And Forgetting

Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” When you fully forgive, God’s peace will rest upon you, and the Holy Spirit will comfort you.

FORGIVING AND FORGETTING

Freedom from the Past

A root of bitterness can grow up in a person because of unforgiveness. This root can be buried deep inside your heart and can block the flow of God’s love from penetrating deep within your heart. It also blocks the flow of God through you, making it difficult to experience God’s love for others. Unforgiveness is a major cause of depression, many people have unforgiveness but are not even aware of it because it is buried so deep inside. Sometimes people do and say things that hurt us very deeply. Sometimes we are hurt by the ones that are closest to us. Sometimes people are hurt in childhood, at the most vulnerable time of life, leaving wounds that we think are healed but they have left scars that still remind us of the wound.

These painful hurts can be buried so deep within us so that we may be unaware that we are still carrying some resentment toward the person who hurt us. Unforgiveness is a form of pride that rejects God and invites Satan in. “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. (Ephesians 4:26-27 NKJV) Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many. (Hebrews 12:14-15 NIV)

Unforgiveness is an unforgivable sin allowing Satan an open door into your life. For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. {15} But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:14-15 NIV)

Jesus says; But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:44-48 NIV)

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. On the contrary: “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:14-21 NIV)

But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. (Luke 6:35-37 NIV)

How to know if you have truly forgiven someone that has hurt you?

Do you say or think things like this? I forgive the person but I will let God deal with them. If you want God to judge and punish them, that is not forgiveness.

Do you say things like, I forgive the person but I do not want to see them or talk to them again. How would you feel if God said to you I forgive you but I am going to avoid you and not speak to you, would you feel forgiven? That is not forgiveness. God’s forgiveness always restores.

Do you still have any anger or bad feelings toward the person? When you fully forgive the person, anger will be replaced with pity for them.

Do you still hold on to the memory of the wrong done to you thinking about it often? True forgiveness forgets, because of the healing of forgiveness the pain disappears as if it did not happen. When God forgives He forgets it forever as if it never occurred.

Do you have trouble accepting God’s love for you, and accepting God’s forgiveness? If so it could be because you are standing in judgement of another person, because you don’t have mercy, it is hard for you to believe that God has mercy and compassion for you. Forgive others and you will be able to forgive yourself, and accept God’s forgiveness in your life.
Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy. (Matthew 5:7 NKJV) Part of the meaning of the word blessed means to be happy, joyful, and depression free. Sometimes we may think that we have forgiven someone but we really have not. When you forgive someone then they are also forgiven by God. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” When you fully forgive, God’s peace will rest upon you, and the Holy Spirit will comfort you. (John 20:21-23 NIV)

This is how to enter into the healing forgiveness, compassion, mercy, and Love of God, which is His grace. Get on your knees and enter into prayer for the person that has hurt you. Approach the throne of grace, in front of the mercy seat, and petition your Father in heaven to please forgive this person. Ask God almighty to pour out His grace, mercy, and compassion upon this person, and in this person. Name off every sin that has been done against you, God will reveal them to you there so you can leave them behind. Tell God please forgive this person because they did not know what they were doing, they did not know how bad there sin was and how much pain it would cause. Just as Jesus hanging upon the cross in agony looked down on the people murdering Him and said Father forgive them for they know not what they are doing.

Ask God in Jesus name, and by the blood that Jesus shed on the cross to please forgive each sin done against you individually. As you name each sin against you and ask God to forgive a ten ton burden will lift off with each one. You will know when they are all gone.

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness. (James 3:13-18 NIV)

Recently God took me into the deepest realm of forgiveness that I have ever experienced. Feeling wronged by a Christian Brother, I was offended, and felt that I did not deserve the false judgments and things he was saying against me, mainly to other people. Jesus teaches us if someone has something against us to go and be reconciled to your brother before you even bring a gift to the Lord. I wanted to reconcile but it seemed impossible because we were unable and it seemed unwilling to even communicate so that we could reconcile. One night when this was a heavy weight upon my soul I began crying out to the Lord not even knowing what to say or pray. I sometimes just groaned in my Spirit and even groaning out loud at times. For about two hours I sought the Lord and His help.

At one point it finally occurred to me that the Lord must be trying to teach me something because it seems always at my lowest points of despair God gives me the greatest revelations. So I said Lord what are you trying to teach me? Within a few minutes the revelation began. I felt that I should pray what I have been teaching others to pray. That is for God to have grace, mercy, and compassion upon the person who I felt had wronged me. But immediately I thought no maybe God needs to deal with this person and “teach him a lesson”. Recognizing that this was judgmental on my part and a very wrong attitude, I proceeded to pray for him that God would have grace, mercy and compassion on him.

At that moment I felt in my spirit that I was moving into the presence of God and my burden starting to lift. I then proceeded to ask God to please forgive my brother who I felt wronged me and I started to name off each offense I felt was done against me. Each time I named an offense and asked God to please forgive him I felt a heavy burden lift from my being. When I named the last one that I could think of I was free. Immediately I felt the Holy Spirit say to me the words of Jesus “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” I knew that my brothers’ sins were fully forgiven, not just by me but also by the Lord, and now Satan had no right and no more hold over my brother, or me, the next day we began to be reconciled. I believe that as his sins were forgiven he was set free from deception

I had always thought that I was very good at forgiveness, and I believe people that know me would agree with that because of some situations I have gone through before. But this time the Lord took me to a new dimension of forgiveness that I had never known before. Now I realize that what I thought was forgiveness was not. Until you go before the throne of grace in front of the mercy seat and plead for God to also forgive the people who have wronged or offended you, you have not fully forgiven. Just as Jesus hanging in agony on the cross, looked down at the people killing Him and said “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing”. God wants us to come to that point in our life. When you get to that point you are dead to yourself, you have given up all of your rights, all your rights to be angry, hurt, offended, to punish, and to judge the other person. It is the most humbling spiritual experience I have ever had, it is very painful to cross that line of giving up all your rights and dying to yourself. But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” (James 4:6 NKJV)

But once I was there, and I felt that burden lift, I felt the most awesome blessing of God come upon me. Blessed are the merciful (compassionate), For they shall obtain mercy (compassion). (Matthew 5:7 NKJV). I felt God’s compassion come all over me, and fill me to overflowing. We have to be very careful to not let ourselves become offended at other people because we will be judged the same way we judge others. “Judge not, that you be not judged. “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. It’s better to have mercy than judgment. (Matthew 7:1-2 NKJV)

We must forgive everyone that offends us, and everyone that sins against us. For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. {15} But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:14-15 NIV) It is clear from God’s word that we are required to forgive sins that are against ourselves because our God and Father forgives, so as His children He wants us to forgive also. Forgiveness is an action of compassion, an act of love. “But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil. “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful. “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:35-38 NKJV)

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4:16 NIV) Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 5:1-3 NIV)

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins, (1 Peter 4:8 NIV). For more about forgiveness see our message about how we are “Called to Be Royal Priest”

Hearing God’s Voice

Hearing God’s Voice

Faith comes from hearing God’s words through His Holy Spirit. Faith is accomplished by actions of obedience with patience and perseverance.

Every true Christian has heard God’s voice. It was God’s voice that called you to Him; it was His Holy Spirit that drew you with chords of love to receive His salvation message, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You heard God’s voice say in your heart “I have chosen you, and ordained you, come unto Me”. Jesus says, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him” (John 6:44). So then your Christian walk began with faith, and you received that faith from God through His Holy Spirit communicating with you.

Faith is a gift from God; it is a part of God’s grace that is at work in your life. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God (Eph 2:8). True faith, true hope, and true love, all come from God and not from your self they are gifts from God. The Bible says, “God has given a measure of faith” to each Christian, (Rom 12:3). Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith, (Heb 12:2).

God imparts faith to people through the hearing of His words. So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word rhema of God, (Rom 10:17). In the New Testament when the word of God is mentioned there are two main words for the word, word; they are rhema and logos. They both have a similar definition that is “spoken words”. But in studying the Bible I noticed an important difference, rhema has to do with hearing the voice and sensing the spirit by which the words are spoken. Logos are recorded words, which have been spoken.

Jesus the Christ is also called The Logos, the Word of God. In the beginning was the Word logos, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (John 1:1) The Words that the Father spoke through Jesus created the universe and all life. By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. (Psa 33:6) The Bible is logos, the recorded words of God. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Tim 3:16-17)

I love the Holy Bible and I accept without doubt that it contains the infallible words of God from Genesis to Revelation. But faith does not come from the Bible; faith comes from God through the Holy Spirit. Rhema is the word of God that is associated with faith; faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word (rhema) of God. So unless a person hears God’s voice and senses His Spirit when receiving the words from God, there is no rhema, there is no faith, there is no life, and there will be no good fruit produced. In fact when people quote scriptures with out being led by the Holy Spirit they produce death not life. Remember even Satan can quote scriptures, Mat. 4:6. People in the New Age movement quote scriptures, Muslims accept some scriptures, and many cults will use some scriptures from the Bible, but there is no true faith produced when they quote the Bible.

Because of the blood that Jesus Christ shed on the cross He made available to us a new covenant between God and man, a new relationship. Everything about the new covenant has to do with the Spirit, not the law. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant–not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! (2 Cor 3:6-9)

Because of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross God is able to give us His spirit in us, and not just with us. “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever “the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:16-17)

So now we have a new nature in us that is God’s laws written on our hearts, God’s Holy Spirit in us. “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. “None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. (Heb 8:10-11) We know God and have intimate fellowship with Him through the Holy Spirit. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (Romans 8:14)

The Pharisees and Sadducees used the scriptures to bring death, as do some religious leaders today, but when Jesus quoted scriptures it brought life. Jesus says “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63) Too many pastors and Bible teachers are bringing death to people instead of life by speaking un-anointed words, that is words that the Holy Spirit has not led them to speak.

Too many people are teaching the written word without teaching the Spirit, which is how to hear God’s voice in you, the Holy Spirit. “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. (Mat 12:35-36) Idle words are dead words that do not carry the anointing of the Holy Spirit, which means that they do not carry God’s voice and His spirit to penetrate the heart of the hearer bringing life and faith.

Pastor, if the Lord has not given you a word to speak then stand behind the pulpit and keep silent, waiting on God until He does. One anointed word from God spoken through your mouth can bring a revival in your church that will touch the world. But great swelling words of emptiness produce death; don’t be a cloud without water that passes over the desert; see 2nd Peter chapter 2.

Too many Christians do not know how to witness to others because they are trying to follow a formula taught by man instead of being led by God’s Holy Spirit in them. Even in your Bible reading you need to be led by the Holy Spirit otherwise it can be dry and boring, but when the Holy Spirit leads you to a passage it brings life and joy because you hear the voice of God and sense His Spirit while you are reading it. You then know that those words were written for you even though they were written thousands of years before. In praying you need to also be led by the Holy Sprit so that you can speak God’s words from your mouth and bring God’s will upon earth.

Everything about our relationship with God has to do with the Holy Spirit. He is our bond and unity with God, and He is our source of communion and communication with God. Jesus says, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.” (John 16:13) It is the Holy Spirit that guides us into all truth, the Bible contains truth but only when the Holy Spirit guides us do we know how to apply Bible truth. The Holy Spirit tells us how to do God’s will, God’s way, and in God’s timing.

There are seven influences that the Holy Spirit has upon the believer found in Isaiah chapter 11. The first is that He is to rest and remain with you forever, He will be with you your whole life, He will be with you through death, and He will be with you in the next life also, forever. The Holy Spirit is the One who is called along side of us; He is our Helper, our Comforter, and our Counselor. There are times when the Holy Spirit’s communication with us is beyond words that we can understand, but we will sense the divine message anyway.

The Holy Spirit will communicate to you wisdom, understanding (discernment), counsel, power (faith), knowledge, and the fear of the LORD. He will cause you to delight in the fear of the LORD walking in obedience and righteousness because the joy of a clean heart will be yours. The Holy Spirit is such a great treasure in the true Christian, what a privilege that God has given us who are of the new covenant. But how often have we neglected, ignored, and allowed ourselves to become distracted from His influence in our lives.

Jesus says, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”, (Mat 4:4). The Bible does not contain all the words of God, but we are to live by all the words of God, that can only happen by living a life led by the Holy Spirit. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. (Rom 8:14) God’s children that have His Spirit also hear His voice. Jesus says, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (John 10:27) The people that hear God’s voice are the people that He knows.

There are many people who call themselves Christians and they may even do great things in Jesus name but they are not being led by God’s Holy Spirit. Jesus says, “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” (Mat 7:22-23). These people made two fatal mistakes; first they took credit for, and trusted that the works would get them into heaven instead of God’s grace given through the blood that Jesus shed on the cross. The second fatal mistake was not being led by God’s Holy Spirit, which is practicing lawlessness and disobedience.

The just shall live by faith, faith is hearing and obeying, so the righteous people live by hearing and obeying God’s words given to them through the Holy Spirit. Whatever is not of faith is sin. The Christian’s spiritual journey begins with faith and continues with faith. Your faith increases as you become more sensitive to the Holy Spirit, hearing God’s words spoken in your heart, and then through obedience and perseverance see the great results of walking in faith. When you are sensitive and obedient to God’s words there will be evidence of your faith. For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. (James 2:26)

When you receive a word from God there are four possible reactions that you can have to the Word of Truth that God speaks to you through the Holy Spirit.

1. A hard heart does not receive the word and then the devil can easily steal it.

2. A shallow heart receives the word with joy and it begins to grow, but when persecution comes it withers because it does not have deep roots in a persons heart.

3. A heart that has other priorities receives the word but it is chocked out by the cares and distractions of this world.

4. A good and humble heart receives the word, and holds on to it, and thereby produces much spiritual fruit through perseverance and obedience to God.

(Luke 8:11-15 NIV) “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. {12} Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. {13} Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. {14} The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. {15} But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

When you first receive a word from God you feel the joy of receiving God’s word in your heart because you are hearing His voice and you sense His Spirit while you receiving the word. That is a rhema word from God. Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD God of hosts. (Jeremiah 15:16) But after receiving a word from God it is no longer rhema, it becomes logos, a received word from God.

You may not continue to feel the joy and sense God’s Spirit from the word that has been received; this is why perseverance is required to produce fruit from a word received from God. You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; (Isaiah 55:12) Even if you do not have the joy you can hold on to the word received and be led by God’s peace. At discouraging times when you turn your attention back to God the Holy Spirit will remind you of the promise and you will be able to hang on to it, and sense God’s peace and comfort.

It is possible to receive a word from God and then not go on to see it fulfilled in the physical realm. Many people get discouraged when circumstances make it look like it is impossible, some will let go of the word and go no further. There will be a time of testing after you receive a word from God, you may even question if you really heard from God, thinking that it could have just been your emotions or imagination. But if you hold on to the promise and persevere you will see it fulfilled and it will produce fruit that glorifies God. For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7)

Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward. {36} For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: {37} “For yet a little while, And He who is coming will come and will not tarry. {38} Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”
(Hebrews 10:35-38)