We're going to talk about, in fact, the title of my message
today is Justice Fulfilled and and Being Established in
Righteousness. Such a huge topic and we're just
going to start in Galatians chapter 2, verse 20.
And I'm just going to read some scriptures to you.
Yes, stand up for the reading of the word.
Galatians 220 says I have been crucified with Christ.
It is no longer I who live, but it's Christ that lives within me
and the life which I now live in the flesh.
I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave
himself for me. Amen.
You can be seated. You have Christ in you.
You have the greater one in you. And, and if we don't make it a
spiritual habit every day to remind ourselves who we are in
Christ, then we'll come up in here in the church.
And the church is such a great corporate anointing and a place
where we can unify, we can get the truth.
We can grow in the truth. But what happens when you're
faced with a crisis out there? And what happens when you're
when you're faced with brokenness in here?
And what happens when you're at home sitting on your couch and
the battle is raging in your mind, 'cause we can come in here
and we can get built up and we should.
But what happens when you go home?
And God desires that we be of one mind of 1 accord, 1 spirit,
thinking the same thing. And so we're going to talk about
how to live in victory every day, every hour, every minute.
I want to read Galatians 220 to you.
In the Passion translation. It says this new life is no
longer mine, for the anointed one lives his life through me.
We live in union as one. My new life is empowered by the
faith of the Son of God who loves me so much that he gave
himself for me, dispensing or imputing his life into mine.
We're going to talk about what that word imputation means, but
first let's go to Ephesians chapter 2.
Ephesians chapter 2 verse one says, And you He made alive, who
were dead in trespasses and sins in which you once walked,
according to the course of this world, according to the Prince
of the power of the air, the Spirit, who now works in the
sons of disobedience, Among whom also we all once conducted
ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of
the flesh and of the mind. And we were by nature children
of wrath, just as the others. But God, everybody say but God,
but God who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with
which He loved us even when we were dead in trespasses, He made
us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved and
raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus. That in the ages to come,
sometimes we need to remind ourselves where we're seated,
that you're seated. The Scripture says in Ephesians
one that that God has placed all things under Christ's feet.
Everything is under his feet. And then it says, and he placed
him at the right hand of the Father.
And then it goes on in chapter 2 to say, and now he's seated you
with him in heavenly places. So spiritually speaking, you're
seated in righteousness. Justice has been fulfilled and
we're going to look at that. But you got to remember where
you're seated because you're always every hour, all the time
above, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion
and every name that is named always, every hour, all the
time, not just when you're here. It reminds me, and I've shared
this before, but it reminds me years ago when the Lord spoke to
me about when David used to go play for Saul and it and it and
it eased his mind and it eased the demonic pressure that he was
feeling. He had peace in those moments.
But but when David left, he went right back to to the torment and
the affliction in his mind. And sometimes as church people,
I'm not saying this is you, although we all should be going
from faith to faith and from glory to glory.
And if you think you've arrived or you think that you don't have
any mind renewal to do, then then I got a spot for you right
up here in just a little bit because we all should be
growing. It wouldn't be right even in the
my marriage with my husband if I just expected that I'm just
right now I'm just this perfect wife, although maybe so that I'm
just this perfect person. I should always be growing.
I should always be saying God search me, see if there's any
offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting.
We all should be in that place. So it so it says, we're seated
together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in the ages to
come, that's right now, that in the ages to come he might show
the exceeding riches of his grace and his kindness toward us
in Christ Jesus. In other words, God wants to
show out through you His grace, His kindness towards us who
believe. For by grace you have been saved
through faith, and it's not of yourselves.
It's the gift of God. It's the gift of God, not of
works, lest anyone should boast. Colossians chapter 2 verses 9:00
and 10:00. I'm going to read it in the
Living Bible. It says for in Christ there is
all of God in a human body. So you have everything when you
have Christ. You have everything when you
have Christ. Let me say that again.
So it so it gets in you, you have everything.
When you have Christ, you have everything and you are filled
with God through your union with Christ.
He is the highly highest ruler with authority over every other
power. Christ in you, the hope of
glory. The Scripture says, are you God
conscious? Are we Christ conscious?
You know, Kenneth Hagin said this, You want to find somebody
spiritual, you don't come up in the church to find them.
You follow them home because anybody can.
Anybody can look spiritual and play the part in here.
And I'm not saying we're a bunch of pretenders, but I'm just
saying what happens in your mind when you go home?
And this is a passion for me because because we over the
years have have counseled and talked with a lot of people and
and people walk through things because of circumstances in
life. But sometimes we go around the
same mountains and the same strongholds in the same patterns
in our lives because of the way we think.
And God redeemed you, but he asked you to do something with
your mind. And it's not hard.
The Bible said his, his, his yoke is easy and his burden is
light. But you got to get in this
spiritual habit of waking up every day and saying, God,
you're good, God, you're in me. Christ, the greater 1 is in me.
Holy Ghost, you're leading me. Thank you, Lord, that I hear
you. You got to wake up because if
you hit the floor and you and you immediately go to how you
feel, then your feelings are going to be sitting on the
throne. Come on.
And we want to be a people who are of one mind.
Emotions aren't sitting on the throne, but we're living the
just shall live by faith. By faith.
Christ in me. So are we God conscious?
I only have about 50 pages, but it's fought 30, so you'll be OK.
Let me say something about true conversion real quick.
I just want to throw this nugget in here.
This might be for somebody and they know who they are.
True conversion, true faith should look very different.
Come on. When, when Saul was confronted
by the Lord and the Lord showed himself to him, Saul said, what
should, what can I do? What should I do?
What do you want me to do? And it reminds me of of the day
I grew up in, in, in the church, grew up in, in Baptist Church,
but but didn't really learn how to live by faith.
And I remember getting born again.
I got born again as a young girl at a Baptist Church camp.
And I'm so grateful for that. But it wasn't until Fast forward
in my 20s, after running my course, drinking drugs, doing
all those things, that the Lord arrested me.
And I remember the day that I got rid of those things and I
said, God, what? What do you want me to do?
How can I, how do I make you
Lord? How do I do this all by myself
in my apartment? And I, I just knew.
I just knew on the inside. Go get a Bible, Go get a
devotional. I remember going to the
Christian bookstore and I didn't know who, who Kenneth Copeland
was at all, but just found me a devotional and just started
reading it every day. So I, so I'd learned how to read
my Bible and so I started reading it every day.
And when my friends, you know, would, would come in with the,
the, the, the blunts and the marijuana and all those things,
there was just something in me that knew I can't do it anymore.
I can't do that anymore. True conversion should look
different. True faith should look different
if we go out into the community and our community sees us broken
in our mind, broken in our body, broken in our emotions.
What is? What is faith?
Then? What is the gospel?
Then Jesus bore it all. He carried it all, every grief,
every pain, every sorrow, every sickness.
But if you don't tell yourself that, and you don't tell
yourself what he did, then you'll just stay in the old ways
of thinking. You'll keep your old garments
on. The Bible says put on the new
man. When I was a little girl, I ran
out of the house without my shirt on and I forgot to put it
on. And I was horrified.
I remember running over to my neighbor's house and and she was
like, what's happening? And I realized I didn't have a
shirt on. And so I ran home as fast as I
could and cried and put a shirt on.
And some of us are like that. We're running around half naked
got don't have our belt of truth buckled around our waist, don't
have our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the
gospel of don't have our helmet of salvation on.
Don't have our sword of the Spirit up with which we can
extinguish all the fiery darts of the evil 1.
And we don't have our breastplate of righteousness on
which we're going to talk about today, because think about that
breastplate, because it covers all your vital organs.
You don't wear that breastplate or righteousness.
You're dead, you're gone. So we're going to talk about
that today, Galatians 524 says, and those who are Christ have
crucified the flesh with its passions, its affections and
desires. And that word affections means a
feeling which the mind suffers or an affliction of the mind.
So in other words, we've crucified the things which have
afflicted our mind. We've done it.
We've crucified when when depression tries to come, thank
you Lord. The joy of the Lord is my
strength. When heaviness tries to come,
thank you Father, the peace of God reigns in my mind.
It's up to you. It's up to you to choose daily
that you're going to live this life of faith.
If we're going to rise, it's got to, it's got to be time for us
to become disciplined and, and skillful in our mind.
It's our job, The Bible says to be transformed by the renewing
of your mind so that you'll know what is good and perfect will is
for your life. And, and often times as
believers, you know, we'll, we'll be like, I just don't hear
him. I, I just don't know him.
I, I'm, I'm not sure if I know what his will is for my life.
Well, that's because we've become dull in our mind.
That's because we've allowed low level thinking.
And this is for every age. It doesn't matter if you're a
teenager. It doesn't matter if if you're
an adult. The same fiery darts come at all
of us. The the devil tried to to
question Jesus, his identity. Are you really the Son of God?
He does the same thing to you. Who do you think you are?
Who do you think you are that you think you can stand on those
healing scriptures? Who do you think you are that
you think you can walk in always walk in peace and joy in the
Holy Ghost? He's a liar and he's under your
feet and you can extinguish all the fiery darts that he throws
at you. There comes a time if you've
examined yourself that you, that you know, there's still a wall
there, There's still a, a stronghold there.
Like I said, even in my progression of, of faith in my
life, I, I knew after that after to start reading my Bible to, to
find a church. I knew to go find a church.
I knew to attend the church. And then next thing I know I
got, I got hooked up with some believers of like faith and they
helped me grow and a pastor who helped me grow.
And then God called me to Bible college and I thank God for
that. And then I and then I met my
husband there and then what was I done growing at that point?
Not even close. I was absolute basket case when
when we got married and God healed me and he redeemed me and
he and he helped me transform my mind so that so that we can go
from faith to faith and glory to glory and have heaven on earth
in every area. And we all can do that.
We all can do that. Second Corinthians chapter 13
verse 5 says examine yourselves as to whether you are in the
faith. Test yourselves.
And King James says, prove yourself.
Do you not know that Jesus Christ is in you?
When you look in the mirror in the morning, do you look in the
mirror and go, oh, clearly I didn't look in the mirror, but
that's OK. Do you look in the mirror and
go, what's happening? Or do you look in the mirror and
go, God is in me, Christ is in me?
I don't care if you think that's silly or not.
I'm just telling you, you either want victory or you don't.
I remember I've shared this in light of there, there he is
right there. My husband and I, when we got
married, when we got married by faith and now I was a Bible
college student and I was growing in the word.
But like I said, I was kind of a mess.
And he would say to me, you're a woman of God.
You're a woman of God. And he would continue to speak
the word to me. Now, was I looking like that?
Maybe not. But he wasn't moved by that.
And that's what I'm saying to you.
And and there came a day as I, as I meditated on the word that
that at first I was like, that's weird.
That's so weird. And you're phony and stop saying
that to me. And there's nothing weird about
it. If you're going to live by
faith, you got to learn how to say God is in me.
The greater 1 is in me. Thank you, Father God, I'm the
heel to the Lord. Thank you that you're Jehovah
Jireh, that you meet all of our needs.
You got to learn to do it, whether you feel it or not.
This is how you overcome. This is how we overcome.
I need to move on. I just want to stir you up today
about this. Who are you?
What did God say about you? This is life or death for you.
And that doesn't mean that you're you're going to fall over
and die, but you can have the effects of death in you and the
effects of death, sorrow, grief, brokenness, depression,
sickness, a broken mind. There's so many.
And Jesus paid for all of them. He conquered all of them, All
your insecurity, all all your insecurity.
There's a word in Scripture that we glaze over and we
misunderstand it. We don't.
We don't know the weight of it. And if you don't understand it,
you'll do things in your own strength to appease your
conscience before God. You'll do things in your own, in
your own actions to make you feel good before the Father and
God never wanted you to do that. God even in the, even in the Old
Testament, when, when Adam and Eve fell, you know, we know that
they hid themselves and, and they were naked, not ashamed,
and they sinned and they hid and there was shame, there was
guilt. And and instead of waiting for
God to clothe them, they found their own clothing.
And that's really just a foretelling and a picture of man
doing what he can in the natural to cover his own shame and his
own guilt and his own insecurity.
We do all kinds of things. We we find our security in our
jobs. We find our security in our
finances. We find security and people
pleasing. Your security can only be in
Christ alone. This word is righteousness.
It's righteousness. Righteousness is so big.
If I was to, if I was to bring the mic and come down and say,
what is your definition of righteousness?
Hands down, most of you would say doing the right thing.
And that's half of it. If you don't understand that he
made you righteous. If you don't understand the gift
of righteousness, you're doing righteousness will all be in
your own strength. It'll all be what you do on your
own. So we're going to look at it
here for just a minute. Part of it is doing
righteousness. But even when I teach
righteousness and in FCUI take 6-7 weeks just to just to hammer
who you are and the gift of righteousness because we as in
our in our human nature, we have a tendency to try to work things
out on our own. We try to do things to feel good
before God. We come to church.
It makes us feel good we read our Bible.
It makes us feel good. When you read your Bible, it
should be to to know Him, to know who He is, to understand
what He said about you. When you come to church, it's
you coming in this corporate anointing to learn, to grow, not
so you can feel good about yourself.
And you got to guard it. We all have to guard it.
When we understand the gift, then we can become so, so wise
and so skillful in our mind to line it up with who we are in
Christ every day, all the time. Hebrews chapter 5.
Let's go there. Hebrews chapter 5, verses 12
through 14. Now, now pay attention to this
scripture. It says, for though by this time
you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again
the 1st principles of the oracles of God, and you have
come to need milk and not solid food.
Now listen to verse 13. For everyone who protects only
of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a
baby, but solid food belongs to those who are a full age.
And let me go back to verse 13. For everyone who protects only
of milk is unskilled in what the word of righteousness for he's a
babe. I I in our in my class that I
teach I I'm reminded always of the Avatar movie and I I will
say you stupid you a baby. It's time to grow up and I'm not
I don't literally call them stupid, but it's just to get
their attention. Verse 14, though, says, But
solid food belongs to those who are a full age or mature, that
is, and it explains what those people do, those mature
believers. It says, that is, those who by
reason of use, have their senses exercised to discern both good
and evil. When it says that the babes are
unskilled, that means they're inexperienced.
But when it tells us that the believer that's mature, the one
who by reason abuse, that means habit, habit has their senses,
exercise. That's your mind, that's your
emotions. When you understand
righteousness, this word of righteousness, then you went
you'll, you'll, you'll speak to your mind.
When your mind says otherwise, if that makes sense, you'll tell
your mind what to think. You have to line your thinking
up with who God created you to be.
You cannot take counsel in your own mind.
You cannot take counsel in your own thoughts, so the Scripture
says, but those who by reason of use are by habit have their
senses exercised to discern good and evil.
In other words, when something comes at me that's against what
God says, I'm so quick to say, Nope, I take that thought
captive and I put it up underneath the obedience of the
word of God. God, you said, and we're quick
to do it. It it's habit for us.
We get in the habit. Honestly, a lot of us get in the
habit of just getting up, going through our day, going to work.
We don't meditate. We don't we don't take captive
our thoughts And then we get home and we're wiped out and
we're funky and we don't want to talk to our spouse and we don't
want to deal with our kids. That's on you by reason of use,
by habit, you got to count it joy.
No matter what you're doing, if you're working with kids in the
preschool, you got to count it joy.
You might not feel like doing it tomorrow, but you say, Father, I
thank you, Lord, the love of God has shed a bright in my heart by
the Holy Ghost. I can love these kids, help
these kids. When I used to work at the
detention center back in Tulsa, OK, when I got the job, I said
God with every with every word, with every action, with
everything that I couldn't openly talk about Christ or the
Bible. So I just said with everything
that I do, every touch, I thank you, Lord, that, that you'll
make your word known and they'll ask me.
And, and if they asked me, I could tell them.
And so, so that was my prayer. And God opened so many doors.
I didn't always feel like going. There was a lot of rough things
that happened in the detention center on a daily basis.
We worked at the group home here in Saint Augustine before we
adopted our boys. And, and day after day after
day, we had to remind and we, this was our confession.
If we're here, God's here. And if God's here, then then
these boys have to change. That's got to be the confession
of faith. That's got to be the confession
of Saint Gerard. If I'm here, God's here.
And if God's here, then these girls are going to change, their
minds are going to change, their hearts are going to be healed.
That's got to be your belief system, your confession by
reason of use. Now the Bible tells us to seek
first this righteousness. Matthew 633 says seek first the
Kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these
other things will be added unto you, His righteousness.
It's not seek first the Kingdom of God and and doing the right
thing. It's first seek first the
Kingdom of God and your position in it and then all these things
will be added to you. Doing righteousness is going to
be an automatic thing when you understand I am the
righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
We're supposed to seek it first. Seek first the Kingdom of God
and your legal position in it. Romans 1417 says, for the
Kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness,
peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
It does not matter how much you come to church, it does not
matter how much you pray in the Spirit.
If you don't have peace and joy, then you don't understand
righteousness. You can pray in the Spirit all
day long, but I'm telling you, faith is a rest.
Faith is a peace on the inside. Joy and peace are not.
They're not an emotion. They both are a spiritual force.
Man, it'll affect your feelings though.
I'm telling you, if you get in the the habit, the spiritual
habit of saying thank you, Lord for the joy that is my strength,
then your body and your emotions start lining up with that.
It's like it's like in a marriage.
I don't, I didn't wait till I felt something.
Although I loved my husband when we got together, but but if I
wasn't feeling it on a certain day, I didn't wait till I was
feeling it to tell him I love him with the love of God that's
been shed. I love you with the love of God
that's been shed abroad in my heart by the Holy Ghost.
You got to call it done. You got to say it's that.
OK, let's go to Hebrews chapter 1.
Your feelings will always line up, always line up.
Righteousness is your access. Hebrews chapter 1 says God, who
at various times and in various ways spoke in times past to the
Father's by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by
His Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, through whom
also He made the world's. Who being the brightness of his
glory, and the express image of His Person, and upholding all
things by the word of His power. When He had by himself purged
our sins, He sat down at the right hand of majesty on high,
having become so much better than the angels as he was by
inheritance, as He has by inheritance, obtained a more
excellent name than they when you speak the word.
Let me just say this before I go to verse 8, the word of his
power. When you speak the word, you're
not trying to get something from God.
When you speak the word, there's power in the word that you
speak. And so when I'm not feeling it
and I speak it, you know, they, they had that old saying, name
it, claim it, blab it, grab it. They can say whatever they want.
We're going to live by faith and that means I'm calling those
things that are not as though they are, verse 8 says, but to
the Son he says, your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
A scepter of righteousness is the scepter of the Kingdom.
You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of
gladness more than your companions.
Hallelujah that that verse says that righteousness is your
access. This scepter.
If you remember the story about Esther when she had to go to the
king, if he did not extend the scepter to her, then she would
be killed. If he didn't extend the scepter
to her. That was access for her.
That was her access to come boldly before the King and
present her case before him. The Scripture says righteousness
is your access, Righteousness is your scepter.
Not doing, don't think OK, if I just do the right thing, I have
access before God. It's being righteous.
It's being the gift that God has made you to be, and out of that
you will do the right thing. By faith, you will do the right
thing. The the Bible says, let me tell
you what scepter means actually. It means access, it means favor,
it means acceptance in Him. Justice is fulfilled when you
stand in righteousness, in His righteousness.
The Bible says in Romans 8, the righteous requirement of the law
is fulfilled. When you walk in the Spirit, the
righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled.
Justice is fulfilled when you live by faith.
You don't want to get out of your seat.
You don't want to get out of your place.
You don't want to get out of this legal position that God has
given you. Righteousness is that legally He
justified you, legally he's justified you.
Romans chapter 5 verse one says therefore having been justified
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
This is something every day that word justified and the word
righteous or interchangeable so much in Scripture I can say
therefore having been made righteous by faith, therefore
having been justified by faith, I have peace with God.
There's no guilt, there's no shame, there's no unworthiness
that follows me around. He's made you worthy in him.
Romans chapter 4, verse two and three says, for if Abraham was
justified by works and he has something to boast about, but
not before God, for what does the Scripture say?
Abraham believed God. Abraham believed God and it was
accounted to him for righteousness.
You sing the song. I sing the song.
Sing the song. Father Abraham, come on.
And so are you. Yeah.
What's the first action? Or like this?
Yeah, we all sang it and we didn't have a clue.
We did not have a clue what we were even singing.
The Scripture says before Jesus ever died was was buried,
resurrected and gave us his righteousness.
That Abraham was given was it was transferred from God's
account to his account. That's what imputation is.
Abraham was given righteousness just because he believed God.
By faith you believe God and it's accounted to you for
righteousness. That's why Abraham's your daddy.
Romans 10/10 says For with the heart you believe under
righteousness, with the heart you believe unto righteousness,
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Romans 517 I will never forget Romans 517 because when I was a
Rhema student and Doug Jones was teaching our righteousness class
and he would tell us all the time you're carnal if you have a
favorite teacher. And so we would be like, OK, we
don't have a favorite teacher, but when he read this Scripture,
I never, I never heard of righteousness.
I didn't know I saw it in the Bible.
I probably heard it in church when I was sitting in the
Baptist Church writing notes and tickling my friend's arm.
I didn't know what righteousness was.
And Romans 517 says, for if by one man's offense that's Adam,
death reigned through the one much more, how much more those
who receive the abundance of grace and the gift, the gift,
say the gift, the gift of righteousness will reign in life
through the one Jesus Christ. It's a gift and you got to be
trained in it. It's a gift and you got to stay
in it. You got to remind yourself about
it. Second Timothy chapter 3, verses
16 and 17 says all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and
it's profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and
for instruction in righteousness.
Why? So that the man of God will be
complete, thoroughly equipped, complete and thoroughly equipped
for every good work. That breastplate is so huge of
righteousness. I want to give you a couple of
definitions of righteousness that I want you to write down as
best as you can and and remind yourself of them.
Righteousness is number one, right standing with God, right
position, right relationship, right standing with God.
Righteousness is number 2, restoring to mankind what was
lost in the fall, restoring to mankind what was lost in the
fall #3 it is the life and nature of God.
He is Jehovah Sid canoe the Lord.
Your righteousness #4 and #5 are big ones.
They're all big, but but ones that you can remind yourself of
#4 is the ability to stand before God without the sense of
guilt, inferiority, or shame. The ability to stand before God
without the sense of guilt, inferiority, or shame.
You have to ask yourself, do I go boldly before God or do I
still have shame? Do I still deal with guilt and
insecurity #5 is righteousness is the ability to stand in the
Father's presence as though sin had never been as free as Adam
was before he transgressed? The ability to stand in the
Father's presence as though sin had never been in your life?
Let me say this about righteousness.
It's what God demands, but it's what He provides.
It's what He requires for access into the Kingdom, but He
provides it. There's a legal position that
God's put you in and you got to stay in it.
You got to legally stand in it. Remind yourself, seek His
righteousness first and keep your mind set on these things.
Let's talk about the mind for just a couple of minutes.
When your mind tells you otherwise, which I mentioned
earlier, what are you going to do?
You got to be so quick not to give attention to something that
doesn't line up with Scripture. Sorrow, heaviness, whatever it
is, the more hurt, brokenness, unforgiveness, the more you give
attention to it, the more it will dominate your soul realm.
You got to be quick to give attention to what God says.
Romans chapter 8, understanding your position of righteousness
is what's going to cause you to be stable, mature, and have
peace and joy. Romans chapter 8 says there is
there, for now, no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus
who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the
Spirit. There's no condemnation if
you'll just stay in the Spirit, if you'll just stay believing
who God says you are, if you'll just stay speaking about your
righteousness all day long. If you'll just stay calling
those things that be not as though they are, then there's no
guilt and there's no condemnation to those who are in
Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and
death. For what the law could not do,
and that it was weak through the flesh, God did.
By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh on
account of sin. He condemned sin in the flesh.
Listen, that the righteous requirement of the law might be
fulfilled in US who do not walk according to the flesh, but
according to the Spirit. For those who live according to
the flesh set their mind on the things of the flesh, but those
who live according to the Spirit, in other words, they set
their mind on the things of the spirit.
For to be carnally minded is death.
Or we could say you're going to have, you're going to live in
the effects of death. But to be spiritually minded is
life and peace, life and peace, life and peace.
The word this year for us is to dominate, to take dominion.
What does it mean to be spiritually minded?
What does it mean to take dominion in your mind?
If you don't have dominion here, you'll struggle everywhere.
You're brand new here. God lives in you, the Holy Ghost
is in you. But if you don't change this,
you'll struggle in every area of your life.
If you continue to believe the report that comes against what
God says, then that's what you'll have.
And it's that simple. Taking dominion in your mind and
transforming. This takes effort, but God's
given you the grace and He's given you the strength and He's
given you everything you need the power to do it.
One of the biggest fights of faith is to govern or take
dominion or control of your thoughts in times of pressure or
crisis. Victory comes though, when you
possess your mind. You live in your thoughts, you
live in what you're thinking, and you've got to learn to live
from the Word of God and from your Spirit man.
We don't look to the hills anymore.
We look on the inside. We look to what God says on the
inside always. What does the word of God say
about this? I got a, a bill that that's,
that looks big. What does God say?
Oh, he says he supplies all my needs according to his glorious
riches in Christ. That's what I'm going to
believe. That's what I'm going to say all
these kids are are so hard. These kids are so hard for me to
parent. I'm I'm so stressed.
This is such a struggle. No, what does the word of God
say I'm anointed to parent. There's an anointing on me for
the love of God. I have wisdom from God.
You choose everyday. The Bible says today I've sent
before you life and death choose life multiple choice.
Here's the answer. Choose life so that you can
live, so that you can prosper, so that you can have health in
every area. The the scripture has a pattern.
There's a lot of finally brethren's, There's a lot of at
the end of Paul's writings and and other writings where where
it's like, OK, finally, this is what I want to say to you.
And when there's a finally, it means you're leaving, you're
transitioning, you're you're changing a season.
And I got some important things to say.
We're going to sit down and we're going to talk about what's
important and what needs to be done for you to have victory.
And in Philippians chapter 4, verse 8, it says finally,
brethren, you know this is right after it says, be anxious for
nothing, but in everything with prayer and supplication and
Thanksgiving, make your request known to God.
And then it says 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 a good report, if there's any virtue,
if there's anything praiseworthy, meditate on these
things. I want to read to you that in
the amplified for the the rest, brethren are finally brethren.
Whatever is true, whatever is worthy of reverence and
honorable and seemly, whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely and lovable, whatever is kind, whatever is
kind, whatever is kind and winsome and gracious, if there's
any virtue and excellence, if there's anything worthy of
praise, think on and weigh and take account of these things.
In other words, fix your mind on them.
People are going to offend you on a daily basis.
Maybe people are going to hurt you.
You're going to have trials in life.
Are you going to count it all joy?
Are you going to are you going to say I love that person, I see
the good in them. Thank you, Lord, that that I can
pray and make power available to them.
I don't hold any unforgiveness in my heart.
You, you have to do. That's the fight of faith.
It takes effort. It takes effort for you.
Sometimes I want to wrestle people because it's fun, But but
sometimes in your mind, there's a peace, there's a rest, there's
a joy in this fight of faith. But you got to put effort to it.
You can't sit on your couch. Come on.
You can't just sit at your job and be down and discouraged.
You know you shouldn't stay discouraged.
Come on, you know God came to to help you and your
discouragement. Maybe your discouragement is
because your kids didn't do what you thought they were going to
do. Maybe you're discouraged because
you've told that person 1000 times and they still keep doing
the same thing. Maybe you're discouraged because
you keep seeing this debt in this one area.
Don't you stay in discouragement.
You don't let discouragement sit on you.
You be quick to count it all. Joy, brethren, sister.
And when you face trials of many kinds, because the testing of
your faith develops perseverance, testing of your
faith, it's the testing of your faith.
Are we that, are we that soft? Are we that Pansy?
Are we that I don't know what other word I can use up here
that we can't Doctor Fartine and I are thinking about basketball
right now. I'm like, I need an athletic
mindset around here. What's happening?
You can run. What's wrong with you anyway?
What was I talking about? Are we are we that way?
Are we pansies that we so soft that that when a trial of life
comes like and we call our friend, guess what happened to
me? Guess what's so and so sad?
Oh my gosh, God hates gossip. He hates it.
He hates it, he hates it. What do you do when that trial
comes to you? Get out of the habit of letting
your thoughts, taking counsel in your thoughts, letting your
thoughts and your emotions dominates you.
Then you'll have victory. That's where your victories at.
2nd Corinthians. No Psalms 13 two.
I'm about to best bust through these last 50 scriptures.
I'm kidding. Psalm 13 two says, how long
shall I take counsel in my own soul, having sorrow in my heart
daily. In other words, you want to keep
taking counsel in your soul, then go ahead and have sorrow
daily because that's what you're going to have.
Your spirit man should affect the mental, should affect the
physical, should affect the material, should affect
everything. 2nd Corinthians 417 says for our light and momentary
troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs
them all. Our light affliction should be
just a moment, just a moment. Sometimes we linger way too
long. We linger way too long on the
affliction. The light affliction should just
be a second. The Bible says, look not to the
things that are seen, but the things which are unseen.
Psalm 20. No, Psalm 42, five says, Why are
you cast down, O my soul? Why are you so disquieted within
me? Hope in God, for I shall yet
praise Him for the help of his countenance.
Why are you cast down on myself? David was saying this.
Sometimes you got to look at your soul and say, Why are you
so sad? Why are you so upset?
Why are you so disquieted? Why do you not have peace?
Sorrow doesn't have to rule you. Grief doesn't have to stay in
your life. It doesn't have to stay in your
life. Jesus bore it not so that we
could stay in it. Jesus bore it so that it's OK to
cry. And I'm not talking about being
insensitive. But don't you sit in grief?
Don't you sit in sorrow? Don't you sit in discouragement?
Don't you sit in disappointment? Why are you cast down on my
soul? Proverbs 1430 says a calm and
undisturbed mind and heart are life and health of the body, but
envy, jealousy and wrath are like rottenness in the bones.
A calm and undisturbed mind and heart are the life and health of
the body. A calm and undisturbed mind and
heart, you got to do what you got to do.
Sometimes I take authority over my hormones and I say hormones,
you get in line right now. Right now.
There are seasons of life, women, that you got to do that.
You take authority over that. Philippians 4 Chapter 11 says
for I've learned how to be content.
You got to learn this content while passing through your
moment. Second Corinthians chapter 10
verses 3 and five tells us how to do this.
It says though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according
to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal.
But what are they? They are mighty in God for the
pulling down of strongholds, 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. Every thought take captive,
every thought all the time, every second, every one of your
thoughts. There are trillions of them, so
many of them in your conscious mind, in your subconscious mind,
they're always there. And if you will just Start
learning how to your, your, you create these trees in your
brain. If we were to open up your brain
and look at them with there's trees that they either look
healthy. Has anybody seen the inside of a
brain before? Your trees either look healthy
or they they look messed up and it is proven.
It is proven in your physical body, your tree.
You can have happy trees. I should have worn.
I have a Bob Ross wig right here.
Happy trees, happy trees. When you think on the right
thing, your chemicals all start to get in line and they all
start to go talk to that tree and get on that tree, and that
tree starts making itself right again.
But when you don't, when you think on the wrong thing, your
tree looks dead, it's unhealthy, and all your chemical imbalance,
your chemicals get all out of whack.
What you do effects every single part of you what you think on.
You got to fight the good fight of faith.
You got to lay hold of this eternal life.
You got to consider it. All joy, brethren, all joy.
Maturity by reason of use, by habits.
Joshua 18 says This book of the law shall not depart from your
mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, day and night,
day and night, day and night, all the time 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'll have good success.
Colossians 33 says for you have died.
You have died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.
You have died. I want my, I want to have AI
want to like get raspy and yell and yell at you or something.
You, you're dead. You've died.
Your life is now hidden with Christ and God.
Quit resurrecting your old self. Quit resurrecting the old
patterns. Quit resurrecting that stuff.
Kill that thing, Paul said. I die daily.
I beat my body daily.
If you don't want to beat it, come see me remix.
If you don't want to beat it, come see me, girl, I got you.
I'll help you help you beat it. Let's beat that thing first.
John 44 says he who is in you is greater than he who's in the
world. Are you reigning?
And what you're thinking? Spirit, soul and body complete,
mature. Let's go to Isaiah 54 real
quick. Isaiah 54, and we're going to
read verses just 14 and 17. Isaiah 54 says in righteousness
you shall be established. I'm going to say it again.
In righteousness you shall be established.
You shall have your foundation, you stay, you shall have your
feet on solid ground in righteousness.
You shall be established. You shall be far from
oppression. You will not fear.
You will not fear, and from terror it shall not come near
you. I mean, if I'm reading that, if
I'm reading that I'm going to say righteousness, I'm
established. I'm going to do that because
this says I don't have to fear. I'm far from oppression, any
kind of oppression. I'm far from terror.
It won't even come near me. None of that even comes near me
if I understand righteousness. But I tell you some in the in
the you know, when I went to Bible college, there were there
were students that were solid and mature and there to learn
the word of God and there was some flaky people and you would
pass them and they would say all kinds of how you doing blessed
Holly favor. They go through all the and if
they meant it, awesome. If they believed it, awesome.
But then you but then you see them in the Walmart parking lot
doing something different. But but what what we like to do
what believers like to do that are that can be flaky.
They like to jump to verse 17 and say no weapon formed against
me shall prosper, and every tongue that rises against me
that rises against me, and it shall be condemned in judgment.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord.
But if you're not established in righteousness first, you have
no, no position. It's kind of like the sons of
Skiva that that tried to come and start saying in the name of
Jesus. This and that and and what
happened? The demons jumped on them and
they were naked and ran off. And you don't want to be like
that. You want to be established in
righteousness. In righteousness you'll be
established. Far from oppression, you will
not fear, far from terror. It shall not come near you.
And I've created the spoiler for you to destroy.
And verse 17 says no weapon formed against you shall
prosper. And every tongue that rises
against you in judgment you shall condemn.
This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord.
And the righteousness is of me, says the Lord, be established in
this righteousness. Psalm 92 verse 12 through 15
says the righteous shall flourish like a palm tree, He
shall grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Those who are planted in the House of the Lord shall flourish
in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in
old age and they will be fresh and flourishing.
To declare that the Lord is upright.
He is my rock and there's no unrighteousness in him.
This Scripture particularly for me, I love because when I was
first born again and and I don't even think I was filled with the
Holy Ghost yet. But when I was when I was first
starting to live for God, I went to a little Bible study and
somebody spoke this scripture over me.
And it's already scripture. It's already in the word.
So I could have stood on it anyway.
But but for them to speak that over me that I'll still bear
fruit in old age. I have gone back to that count
countless times because when I get discouraged or when I have
some some some hopelessness try to come in or something comes
against my life, I say I'll still bear fruit and old age.
God, thank you, Lord, that I'm fat and flourishing.
Not fat physically, but you know it.
The scripture says fat and flourishing.
It means like full fat and flourishing and and I'm still
going to keep bearing fruit in old age.
That was a Rhema word for me. And I go back to that when I
want to jump off ship and go, Nope, I'm going to keep bearing
fruit all the day with long life.
Shall you satisfy me and show me your salvation?
And I'm going to bear fruit every single day of it.
I want to say something about Romans chapter 1 because it it,
it's a big deal and I can't, I'm not going to preach on Romans
chapter 1, but sometimes I want to.
But Romans chapter 1 says, for I'm not ashamed of the gospel of
Jesus Christ, for in it, in the gospel the righteousness of God
is revealed. I'm not ashamed of this gospel.
And in this gospel the righteousness of God is
revealed. And then it goes on to talk
about man and how man, it says although they knew God, they
didn't honor him as God, nor were they thankful.
And so God gave them over to a debased mind.
They began to serve the creation, the other than the
Creator. And you wonder why we see what
we're seeing in our culture today.
Because although they knew God, although they may have grown up
in church, they did not honor him as God.
He was not Lord. They did not honor.
They didn't seek first the Kingdom of God, his rights, and
they were not thankful. A thankful heart is a happy
heart. Be glad for what you have.
That's an easy way to start. That's a veggie tale that I used
to sing all the time when my girls were little.
A thankful heart's a happy heart.
Be thankful always, all the time.
Psalm 23 I'm going to just slow down and with a few scriptures
to build your faith in this area.
The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside the still waters.
That's a peaceful place. He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of what? Righteousness.
For his name's sake, For his name's sake, for his glory, not
for your glory. Man does what he wants to do,
and he thinks God accepts it. And man gets all the glory.
But God did the work, and we accept it, and he gets all the
glory for it. He leads me in paths of
righteousness for his name sake. Yeah.
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil, for you are with me.
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil. My cup runneth over.
Are you seated at the table? Because the scripture says your
enemies are there. The scripture says you're seated
at the table and there's enemies all around you.
But what are you going to do? Are you going to, are you going
to look at the enemy? Are you going to look at the
distraction? Are you going to say, what did
you say? Are you going to say, just pass
me the bowl of victory, Just pass me the bowl of peace?
Just pass me the bowl of provision.
You got to stay seated. I remember when I first got
revelation of that. I was listening to Brother Hagin
a series called Casting Your Cares upon the Lord and he
started talking about being seated at the table.
And I was a Rhema student and and I pulled up.
I was driving a little Mazda Miata at the time, and the
driver door didn't work and I had to wear pantyhose and skirts
to class and I had to crawl over my stick shift.
It was super attractive and get out.
And I was in my Miata and he was talking about being seated at
the table and that your enemies are there and that they're
talking to you and that they're saying things to you.
But what are you going to do? And I victory came on me and I
jumped out of my car and I took off running by.
It was that night I took off running down the street all by
myself because it became revelation to me.
You can sit in here and never get revelation.
You can sit in here and the word not ever become real to you.
Do you know that what you receive in here is as much on
you as it is on the preacher? We can prepare till our guts
come out. We can spend hours and hours and
hours being ready for you. But if you're not ready, if
you're not bringing your supply of faith, then it's just going
to hit you and hit the floor and you're going to walk out of here
and not be any different. Oh, you got to get revelation of
the Word of God. We haven't.
We can say I have lived and I've seen the faithfulness of God,
living for God since I was 2122 when I really made Jesus Lord.
I can honestly say God is so faithful and He is true to His
Word and He will do what He says He will do and there's power in
what He says. You just have to choose it.
You just got to choose it every single day, every hour, every
time the fiery dart comes at you.
Psalm 34, when we were as students, Keith Moore was one of
our instructors and he made us stand up every day and quote the
first part of Psalm 34. And I didn't always feel like
doing it. And when we did it, once we
started saying it, I started like sitting standing up a
little taller. And my spirit mind started
getting strengthened and and I was like, yeah, but when I first
stood up, I was like, oh again. But he wouldn't.
He would have a stand up and say, I will bless the Lord at
all times. His praise shall continually be
in my mouth. My soul, my soul, say, My soul
shall make its boast in the Lord.
The humble shall hear thereof and be glad.
O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.
I will bless the Lord at all times.
His praise will continually be on my mouth.
Praise team, you can come. I will bless the Lord at all
times. His praise will continually be
on my lips. Isaiah 26 three says, Thou will
keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee, because
you trust in the Isaiah 6110 says, I will greatly rejoice in
the Lord my soul, my soul shall be joyful in my God.
For he has clothed me with the garments of salvation, and he's
covered me with a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom
decks himself with ornaments, and a bride adorns herself with
jewels. He has clothed you.
Quit running out of the house naked.
Proverbs 13 four says, But the soul of the diligent, the soul
of the diligent shall be made rich.
The soul of the diligent. You got to be purposeful to say
I'm going to be diligent. I'm going to be diligent in my
thought life, in my thinking. Psalm one O 3 says, Bless the
Lord, O my soul and all that is within me.
Bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
forget not, do not forget all his benefits.
He forgives all your iniquities. He heals all your diseases.
He redeems your life from destruction.
He crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies.
He satisfies your mouth with good things so that your youth
is renewed like the eagles say my youth is renewed like the
eagles. The Lord executes righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
Has He executed it? Has He done it?
I want to end with First Corinthians chapter 1, verses 9
and 10. It says God is faithful by whom
you were called into the fellowship of his Son Jesus
Christ our Lord. Now I plead with you, brethren,
oh, I plead with you, I plead with you, I plead with you,
brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all
speak the same thing, that there be no divisions among you, but
that you be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in
the same judgment. You've been justified freely by
his grace. Freely.
Don't be shaken in your mind. Second Thessalonians says don't
be so quick to be shaken in your mind for the day of the Lord
Jesus Christ is at hand. In Luke 21 when it begins to
tell us about all the things that in the last days that are
going to be happening, wars, rumors of war, all the things
that we're seeing a lot of them happening now in verse 19, I
think it is it says after it says all that it says.
Now in your patience possess ye your soul.
In other words, if you look up the meaning behind those words,
you it, you could say in your steadfastness, you possess your
soul in your effort, in your diligence, you possess your
soul. Nobody can do it for you.
The Word of God will definitely do it for you.
You just have to choose it every single day.