We must build our thinking around the word of God that He gives us every day and every minute.
Matthew 4:4 (NKJV)
But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
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.
John 8:30-36 (NKJV)
As He spoke these words, many believed in Him. (The Truth Shall Make You Free) 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.
Joshua 1:5-9 (NKJV)
…as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you nor forsake you. 6 Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. 7 Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law which Moses My servant commanded you; do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. 8 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.”
Joshua 1 is all about how to be prosperous and have good success. The KEY is to renew your mind to God’s ways and thinking by meditating on His Word, and speaking it all the time. An excellent example of negative thinking vs. faith-filled thinking (true vs. Truth) is found in Numbers 13-14. When God sent spies into the land Joshua and Kaleb were the only 2 out of 12 that were bold and courageous in the face of the impossible. BECAUSE they BELIEVED the word of the Lord and stood on the promises of God. That is how Joshua ended up leading all of Israel when Moses died. All of the other spies had stinkin’ thinkin’ and were negative… They ended up causing a whole generation of Israelites to die in the desert!!!
Numbers 13-14 (NKJV)
Spies Sent into Canaan
13 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”
Good Report:
26 Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.
Negative Thinking:
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” 32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”
Israel Refuses to Enter Canaan
14 So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.”
Positive Faith-filled Thinking:
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
6 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; 7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.”
Negative Thinking:
10 And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Now the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel.
Moses Intercedes for the People
11 Then the Lord said to Moses: “How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them? 12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”
13 And Moses said to the Lord: “Then the Egyptians will hear it, for by Your might You brought these people up from among them, 14 and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, Lord, are among these people; that You, Lord, are seen face to face and Your cloud stands above them, and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if You kill these people as one man, then the nations which have heard of Your fame will speak, saying, 16 ‘Because the Lord was not able to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, therefore He killed them in the wilderness.’ 17 And now, I pray, let the power of my Lord be great, just as You have spoken, saying, 18 ‘The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’[f] 19 Pardon the iniquity of this people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”
20 Then the Lord said: “I have pardoned, according to your word; 21 but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord— 22 because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, 23 they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. 24 But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it. 25 Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valley; tomorrow turn and move out into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.”
Results of Negative Thinking vs. Positive Faith-Filled Thinking
26 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 27 “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who complain against Me? I have heard the complaints which the children of Israel make against Me. 28 Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: 29 The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above. 30 Except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun, you shall by no means enter the land which I swore I would make you dwell in. 31 But your little ones, whom you said would be victims, I will bring in, and they shall know the land which you have despised. 32 But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your sons shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years, and bear the brunt of your infidelity, until your carcasses are consumed in the wilderness. 34 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection. 35 I the Lord have spoken this. I will surely do so to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.’”
36 Now the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report of the land, 37 those very men who brought the evil report about the land, died by the plague before the Lord. 38 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the land.
This is the powerful prayer teaching people how to cut off the voice of the flesh, be filled afresh with the Holy Spirit and have the mind of Christ:
Liberator Prayer
Discover and Develop your Destiny
James 4: 7-8
1: Run TO God and not from God)
“Submit to God… Draw nigh to God,
And He will draw nigh to you.” James 4:7a
~~ “Father, I need You! I love You. Be exalted as the Lord of my life… in Jesus’ Name.”
2: Repent if You Have Yielded to the Flesh
“…Cleanse your hands, ye sinners…” James 4:8a
~~“Father, I admit that I’ve yielded to the flesh. I confess that I… (Fill in the bank). I thank You, Lord, that You are faithful and just to forgive me of my sins and to cleanse me from all unrighteousness!” (1 John 1:7-10; 2:1-2)
3: Resist the Devil
“Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7b
~~“I take authority over every demon affecting me in any way. I bind, rebuke, and resist you and all of your works. I loose the light, the blood, the cross, the anointing, the fire of God, and the angels to make you go… in Jesus’ Mighty Name.”
~~“I cut off all words, judgments, and weapons formed against me. They will not prosper… in Jesus’ Name.” (Isa. 54:17) It is written…
4: Remove the Source
(Sin Nature – Flesh – S.I.N. = Self~Ish~Ness)
“…purify your hearts, ye double minded.”
James 4:8b (Galatians 5:19-25)
~~“I say I am dead to sin (flesh), I am alive to God in Christ Jesus my Lord.” (Rom. 6:11, 6)
~~“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by THE faith of Jesus Christ, Who loved me, and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20 (KJV)
~~”I put off the old man and put on the new man which was created in Christ Jesus, in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24)
~~“I take captive every thought and bring it into obedience to Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:3-6)
5: Re-filled Afresh with the Holy Spirit
“For it is God Who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure.” Philippians 2:13 (NKJV)
~~”Lord, I thank You for filling me afresh with the Holy Spirit, with power, love, and a sound mind. I have the mind of Christ.”
(Ephesians 5:17-20; 2 Timothy 1:7; Mark 13:11;
1 Corinthians 2:16)
~~” I submit to You, Holy Spirit, to produce the fruit of Your Spirit through me, and give me compassion and boldness to be Your witness.”
(1 Corinthians 2:16; Acts 1:8; Acts 4:31)
God wants you to live free.
Always keep this script with you.
Repeat these 5 steps as often as needed.
Immediately when you follow your fleshly nature,
Stop, and “do” the D3 Liberator Prayer.
Receive Wisdom from God
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, Who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” James. 1:5 (NKJV) (Proverbs 2:6, 9:10)
~~“Lord, I cut off the voice of the flesh, the voice of the enemy, and I ask you for Wisdom, Knowledge and Understanding… in Jesus’ Name.”
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (KJV)
~~“Lord, You said in Your Word that if I acknowledge You, You will direct my paths. I thank You that You have given me ears to hear as Your Holy Spirit leads and guides me right now… in Jesus’ Name. Amen” (Matt. 13:13-23)
(This will give you practical application, so you know how to apply God’s Word and His guidance.)
Copyright © 2014 Dr. W. Scott Garner