Conquering The Chaos In Your Mind

You're very welcome to today's Triumph Church podcast.

We pray that you enjoy the message.

Thank you. Thank you.

Wow, what an honor to be here and be in your beautiful

country. Can I tell you something you

have? A beautiful country.

We've been here for 9 days, 10 days and we haven't seen an ugly

place yet. And I'm going to tell you, we

haven't seen ugly people. Yet.

Well, there might have been 2IN Dingle, but other than that they

were on the line whether they were ugly or not.

Every The country is so beautiful, so green.

Oh my goodness, I wish every day I get up I have to fight envy

because my yard does not look like any yard here.

Any field. Your roads are mostly green

compared to my yard. And it it is just at we have had

the time of our life. Last week we got the to minister

at Pastors Amy's parents church and it's just it's it's just you

just have absolute beautiful country and it's we have known

pastors Brad and Amy for known about them for years, many

years. We are dear friends with their

pastors, Mark and Janet Brizzy and we would see them from a

distance and I get their newsletters and things of that

nature and we've just admired them for years.

A young couple would leave the comforts of the States and come

to a land that they know nobody in and and have no roots in.

But they come because the Lord sent them and and and have set

up home and have this has become their home and you have loved

them and we just we honor you. We honor you and it, it's so

wonderful to see the greatest young man in all of Ireland,

Aiden and, and, and the reason we know that's because his

grandmother told us and she said, you get to see my

beautiful, my handsome, talented, brilliant, smart

grandson. And I'm thinking, my God, this

is his father, son, Holy Ghost. And Aiden, I mean, it's, that's

the order and he hasn't disappointed me yet.

Yes, yesterday pastors Brad and Amy took us, showed us around,

showed us several things and was so fortunate to get to have a

meal with them. And Aiden didn't get to go.

He had to have tea with his baby sister.

Now I'm going to tell you what an 18 year old that willingly

has tea with his baby sister. You are part of the Trinity.

I guarantee you we don't see that in the States.

Tea. I ain't having tea with that

brat, you know, and the name you know.

So it's just such a such an honor to be here.

Let me tell you about this book. If you know Trinity College here

in your Trinity College and Manuth University did a study in

2023 that came out at the end of 2023.

That tells us that 42% of all adults in Ireland are dealing

with some type of mental health issue. 42% that's not, that's

your university's. Trinity College and Manuka

University did a study. 42% of all adults in Ireland are

dealing with some mental health issue and they think it's higher

than that because they do know this.

And this is true in every nation that the majority of people who

are struggling never seek treatment.

They're either ashamed or scared or don't know how to seek

treatment for some type of mental health issue.

And so they really don't know what the numbers are.

That 42% are those numbers that they know of it because those

people have sought some type of treatment.

And when we talk about mental health issues, we're not

talking. Most people think, well, they're

just crazy. They're we're not talking about

that. We're talking about depression.

We're talking about being bipolar.

We're talking about dramatic mood swings that it hinders you

from being your best on certain days.

We're talking about fears, phobias.

We're talking and many of the people because sometimes the

weather, a lot of the time the weather might not have the sun.

We've been blessed with sun this week, but a lot of people here

struggle with the lack of sun here and it makes them feel

gloomy. And so it could be

schizophrenia, multi personality disorders, it could be some type

of family situation that your family, your grandmother was

depressed, your mama's struggle with depression or daddy

struggled with depression and now you're struggling with

depression. It could be a myriad of

different ailments. Anything that affects us

mentally that hinders us from being our best for God.

Your country, your universities have discovered that 42% of the

adults in this in this nation. And the reason why that is, and

it's true about every nation, the reason about why that is, is

because Satan operates in the arena of thought.

And that's one thing we must learn.

And we Christians have been slow.

We know there's a devil and we talked about spiritual warfare

and we read about it in the book of of Daniel where Daniel prayed

and the Angel came back and said the Prince of Persia or the

demonic personality of Persia, that's over.

Persia has withstood us coming back and giving you the answer

from God. So we get to get this solo

thinking, this focus thing that all spiritual warfare is up in

the heavenlies and we got to pull it down and take authority

over it. And there is spiritual warfare

in the heavenlies. The Bible talks about that.

But the greatest spiritual warfare that happens in our life

takes place between our ears and behind our eyes because Satan

operates in the arena of thought.

He's never showed up at my house, and he'll never show up

at your house in a red devil suit in a pitchfork and ring the

doorbell and say, hey, I'm the devil.

I'm here to torment you. How does he come?

How does he mess with us? How does he tempt us?

He tempt us in our thought life. And here's how.

Here's how. How a creative he has learned to

be is that he'll get on one side of your shoulder and whisper a

thought in your ear and then immediately come around the

other side on the other side and whisper this thought.

If you were really a Christian, you wouldn't be thinking that.

Yet He's the one that put it in your mind.

And I didn't understand these truths, and I didn't understand

the five simple truths I'm going to share with you this morning.

And when I was 29 years old, my grandmother was a frequent guest

patient at a mental hospital. Back years ago, they in America,

they called them insane asylums. OK, where they just and years

ago, the compassion care for those people struggling mentally

wasn't as compassionate as it is today.

Back then, when my grandmother was alive and struggling with

it, they just put people away, out of sight, out of mind, and

she was in a mental hospital. My aunt, her daughter, spent

time in the same mental hospital.

My dad struggled with mental health issues.

And I thought growing up, I thought they were.

Weak. I thought they were just being

lazy, get out of bed, go to work.

Stopped acting that way. I just thought because it never

affected me. And then, at the age of 29, out

of the clear blue, a spirit of depression got on me.

And I wouldn't. I didn't hardly leave my house.

For a solid. Year because of paranoia and I

couldn't turn my mind off. Terrible, harassing, tormenting,

unhealthy, impure, faults racing through my mind, Fearful

thoughts racing through my mind. I never slept over 3 hours a

night. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't get

my mind to turn off. And it was during that one year

period that the Lord began to teach me how to break that thing

over our family and how to overcome thought attacks and

this spirit of mental health crises that had been running

through my family. And that's where this book came

from, conquering the chaos in your mind.

It's literally my story and how the Lord appeared to me and

taught me some things and how I went to heaven once and, and he

shared with me some things about I'm why I'm here today.

He showed me that this would be my ministry.

So everywhere I go nationally or internationally, I teach on the

fault life because I'm under mandate to do that to help

people get free. So if you would like this book,

you can get it back. There's just my story.

I'm not here to sell books. If you don't have the money and

would like to have it, you don't have the money, just grab you

one. Just grab you one.

OK, We have in America they call grab it and go.

So they go, they go into department stores and whatever

they want, they grab it and go, well, don't grab it and go tell

somebody back there I'm grabbing it.

And then you go, OK, but, but they are, I think they're $15

euro. But if you'd like 1, you can get

them back there or you can just take one.

If you don't have the money, we'd love to give it to you.

We just want our message is just to get the message out.

Anybody want this one? Anybody, anybody want this one?

I'm I've got it up here. Anybody want?

Nobody want you want it, sister, You want it?

All right, here you go. You can have it.

Pay the lady back there. 15 year olds OK.

I'm just kidding, it works every time.

It don't make any. There's what city I'm in, what

nation I'm in. People, suckers fall for that

line every time. 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 For though we walk in

the flesh, we do not war after the flesh.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty

through God, to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down

imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against

the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every

thought to the obedience of Christ.

Here's something I want you to understand.

If you and I do not take our thoughts captive, our thoughts

will take us captive either. You and I will take our thoughts

captive, or our thoughts. Will take us captive.

How many of you have, like me in the past, have had a thought get

in your mind and it just ruined your day?

It might have ruined your week and then you found out later

that that which was ruining you. That thought wasn't even

accurate at all. It was inaccurate information,

or that fear that paralyzed you for a week, or a day, or maybe a

month. Turned out it never

materialized. It never happened what you were

scared of and the thoughts that were tormenting you never came

into reality. See, we have to learn this

truth. Satan operates in the arena of

thought and we have a choice as believers in the Lord Jesus

Christ. Because remember what Jesus said

in Luke chapter 10. Behold, I give you authority

Luke 10 · chapter mention

over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means

hurt you. And where Satan's power lies is

by putting deceptive thoughts in our minds and we grabbing hold

of those and believing that. So we have to take every thought

captive. It's not a suggestion, it's a

commandment from the Lord. And 2nd Corinthians chapter 10,

Satan operates in the arena of thought.

Let me show it to you again from the Scripture.

Turn with me. You have your Bibles.

Turn with me to 2nd Corinthians chapter 4. 2nd Corinthians

chapter 4 verses 3 and 4. Second Corinthians chapter 4

2 Corinthians 4:3

verses 3 and 4. I'm just going to read it from

the new King James Version. I like them all, but it's just

the one I happened to pull up. Listen to what the Apostle Paul

says to Christians. He's talking to Christians now.

He's not talking to sinners. He's not talking to people that

that are drunkards. He's not talking to people that

are heathens. He's talking to Christians.

Bible believing spirit filled Christians in Corinth.

Amanda and I was just back there in Corinth in October of this

past year. We were there and and taught

over in Corinth. But listen to what he says.

If our gospel is veiled one translation, I think the King

James. Says if our gospel is hid, it is

veiled to those who are perishing.

Now notice this. Why are they perishing?

Why is the gospel veiled or hid from those who are perishing?

Whose minds? Everybody say they're mine,

mine. Who's mine?

Who's mine? The God of this world has

blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel, of

the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on

them. The Bible tells us here that

Satan operates in the arena of thought.

Have you ever talked to a friend, a family member, and

witness to them about Jesus, told them about Jesus, and they

just looked at you or responded like we're crazy?

What are you talking about? That's the craziest things.

And yet you think about it. We serve a God who came to

earth, left all of his wonderful glory and riches, and came to

earth and became a man, never sinned, and paid the price for

our eternal judgement so we could spend an eternity with God

in heaven. And he offers it to us free of

charge, Salvation free of charge.

Who in their right mind would not accept such a wonderful

gift? Christianity is such an amazing

and wonderful gift. Why wouldn't anybody want to be

a Christian? Why would if God says, I'll,

I'll bless you with all the blessings of heaven?

Why wouldn't anybody want the blessings of heaven?

And yet we talk to people and they'll just look at us and say

you're crazy. You don't know what you're

talking about. You, you're and they look at you

like we are mad. And they just, they just don't

see it. They can't see it.

Their eyes are blinded. Amanda and I have been to

Israel. We take pastors to Israel.

We've been to Israel 8 times and we'll go over there and we'll

witness to people when in, in certain areas.

We get to witness to people and, and, and they, they're so

friendly and they're so kind, but when it comes to Bible and

they just don't see it. Their eyes are blinded.

Why? Because Satan, the Bible says,

blinds people eyes to the truth, lest the light of the glorious

gospel should come upon them. Notice what he says.

He blinds their minds. No, she didn't say blinds their

hearts. He blinds their minds because

we've got to be able to get it through the mind before he can

ever get to the heart. Satan operates in the arena of

thought and you and I need to understand unless we take our

thoughts captive, our thoughts will take us captive.

So there's five simple little truths that I want to share with

you today and about how to what the word says about your thought

life. First of all, I'll say this.

Did you know that studies have shown us that the average

person, the average person in this room processes neuroscience

has told us the average person in this room processes around

between 50 and 60,000 thoughts a day.

The average person now now brilliant people like brother

Aiden and according to his grandmother and and these two

who are studying physics at at the university, they're

brilliant, brilliant people process according to

neuroscience up to 80. Thousand thoughts a day.

But average people like me and Amanda and and Pastor Brad,

Pastor Amy's a little higher on the scale, but we we do between

process between 50 and 60,000 thoughts a day.

Now, have you ever thought about this?

Did you know they're 86,400 seconds in a day?

86,400 seconds in a day? And if you're processing 60,000

thoughts a day, did you know you're See, the Bible says we're

fearfully and wonderfully made. Did you know every 1.3 seconds

your brain is processing a thought?

Every 1.3 while we've while I've been standing up here in the

last 15 minutes, I know your brain.

Your brain has processed 1000 thoughts.

I know what you're thinking. Does everybody in Tennessee

tall, dark and handsome like that little fella?

I know what your brains process it, but every 1.3 seconds we're

processing the thought. Now here's what's amazing.

Neuroscientists tell us that out of the 60 thousand thoughts a

day that we process that our brain, 90% of them are

repetitive or the same thought. So if we're processing 60,000

thoughts a day, 90% of them 54,000 of those thoughts are the

same thought repetitive. You say, what do you mean?

Have you ever got a tune, a song stuck in your head and it just

keeps playing over and over and over and over?

I don't know if y'all know this song, but year years ago there

was a song in America and it was a rock from a rock band.

And I know pastors aren't supposed to listen to rock

bands, but have us having a bad day.

So I listen to the rock band and and there's and there was this

song called She's a Brick. House and it was talking about

the the girl's friend's body. She's built like a brick house.

All right, it's not what a pastor needs to be listening to.

OK, but that was years ago. Well, I heard that song few

years ago again just to heard it on a radio station and it

brought back all these memories. Well, I got that song hung in my

mind and I'm humming it. I was at a pastor's lunch and I

was sitting with some pastors and this pastor looked at me.

I didn't realize it. This pastor looked at me and

said, what are you humming? I said, am I humming?

He said, yeah, what are you humming?

And I started humming it a little louder and I.

And I was so embarrassed. I said, I said, that's a new

rendition of Amazing Grace. That's what that is.

So that's called a looping thought.

It's a looping thought. It just keeps over, over and

over and over. We deal with all.

I deal with a lot of people who are struggling with, we call it

PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder.

We deal with a lot of. Military veterans who've been in

war, we deal with a lot of first responders, police officers,

firefighters who've seen some terrible and tragic things, and

they get those looping thoughts because of an accident they have

been to or a terrible moment in their life.

Now, that's just a small segment of society, but we deal every

single day and we get letters and emails from all over the

world of people who've gotten the book.

And they've had a conversation with an ex where he told the

spouse that he'd been unfaithful to her.

And it caused such a traumatic event in her emotions, in her

mind, that she replays that over and over and over again.

Or maybe an employer that tells you that you're being fired or

let go and you remember that over and over and over again.

It doesn't have to be some terrible tragedy or accident.

It can be a betrayal, a moment of betrayal, a moment of fear.

It could be a conversation that you've had that's brought you

such a trauma in your life. But the truth of the matter is

we've all experienced those moments where those thoughts,

those moments of trauma happen in our life.

It could be as a child being abused, molested, but we've all

had moments. And if we're not careful, and if

we don't know how to catch those moments and take those thoughts

captive, those moments will replay over and over and over

again. And what happens is that it

replays over so much that your body and your emotions begin to

react. Every time you see something

that reminds you of that traumatic moment, you hear

something that reminds you of that traumatic moment.

Or even I've had people tell me I get around a place and I

smell. The smells, and it reminds me of

a traumatic moment, all the emotional upheaval that they

experienced maybe years ago. When the moment happens, it

comes back fresh and new all over again.

So we must learn to take our thoughts captive or our thoughts

will take us captive. And here's what the Lord has

taught me about the fault life. 5 simple things that I want to

share with you #1 the direction you and I pursuing life is

totally determined by our thought life.

Your direction, where you're going, Aiden's, Aiden's, Aiden's

wanting to go to university and he's already thinking about it.

You guys have come to the university to study physics

because you thought about it. You you are here today because

you thought about it. See, the direction we pursue in

life is determined by our thought life.

In fact, what you're wearing today, especially you women,

what you're wearing today, you thought about.

In fact, some of you started thinking about it on Thursday.

Well, Sunday I'm gonna wear this.

You probably changed your mind two or three times.

You might have changed your mind this morning, but you thought

about last night. Tomorrow at church, I'm gonna

wear this. See the direction we pursue now,

we men, we're not that way. We don't think about what we can

wear. You can look at us and tell.

We don't think about. We pull a shirt out and give it

a sniff. Oh, that's good.

Let's go see. But the direction we pursue in

life is determined by our thought life.

The let me give you Scripture for that.

Let me give you the Scripture for that.

Turn with me to Romans chapter 8, verse 5.

Romans 8:5

Romans chapter 8, verse 5. Notice what it says.

Romans 8:5

Paul's talking to Christians in Rome.

He says for those who live according to the flesh.

If you live according to the flesh, notice what he says.

In the New King James Version, you set your mind on the things

of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set

their minds on the things of the Spirit.

So our direction in life is determined by our thought life.

My question is, what do you been thinking about lately?

What have you been thinking about doing lately?

Where have you been thinking about going lately?

So our direction in life is determined by our thought life.

That's number one. Number two is simply this.

Not only is our direction in life determined by our thought

life, but our quality of life is determined by our thought life.

Not only are you here today because you thought about coming

to church this morning, but the attitude in which you are here

with is the attitude that you've allowed in your thought life.

Not only is our direction in life determined by our thought

life, our quality of life, because let me give you

scripture for that. Look at Romans chapter 8 verse 6

Romans 8:6

next very verse Romans chapter 8 verse 6 in the new king J the

Romans 8:6

mind governed by the flesh. The mind governed by flesh,

selfish carnal desires. Notice what it is it's death.

That word death in the original language means empty, lacking

void. The mind governed the mind.

The fault. Life that is governed by

selfish, carnal thoughts is empty, lacking in void.

But the mind governed by the spirit notice is life and peace.

You're mine. See my not only is my direction

determined by my thought life, my quality of life is determined

by my thought life. You choose.

You and I have to understand. We choose what kind of day we're

going to have. Circumstances don't choose it.

Our family doesn't choose it. Our employer doesn't choose it.

The government doesn't choose it.

Listen, the weather doesn't choose it.

We choose what kind of day. The mind governed by the flesh

is death, empty, lacking in boy. The mind governed by the spirit

is life and peace. I can't tell you the number, the

dozens, literally dozens over the years of very wealthy people

who have come to see me and, and, and their wealth.

I mean, some of them super wealthy.

Their, their wealth made their life comfortable.

It made their life more able to have things maybe other people

didn't have. It enabled them to go where they

wanted to go and do what they wanted to do, but their wealth

never gave them Peace of Mind. I can't tell you the number of

wealthy people who've come to me who are who, who have more money

than they ever spend, but they'd give it all away if they had one

night apiece. On the other hand, my

grandmother, my my grandmother on my mom's side, my, my dad's

mother, my grandmother on my dad's side, she's the one that

that's the line that had the mental health problems.

My grandmother on my mom's side, my grandfather was a.

Preacher and and back when preachers, you know, they paid

you in America years ago, many years in groceries here and the

most he ever made as a preacher. I still have his little book was

$42.00 most he ever made for a week.

And so when it came time for we call it Social Security.

What do they call it here in the the the pension things of that

name. She only got 42 dollars $342.00

a month. That's all she got.

And $342 a month from the government.

You. You couldn't.

Live on that and so, but you know what, we would go to see

her and every time we would leave her house, we felt like

kings and priest because she never said a negative word,

never had a bad day. Every missionary would come to

her little church. She made she gave an offering to

because the thought life governed by the flesh.

Like the people who had plenty of money, but they couldn't

control their thought life. They'd give it all away for one

night of peace. Here's my grandmother that

didn't have hardly anything, just barely getting by.

And she was so full of joy and full of life, because the mind

governed by the Spirit is life and peace.

See, not only is our direction in life determined by our

thought life, but our quality of life.

Is determined by our thought life.

And then here's the third thing. Your thoughts.

My thoughts are blueprints for actions.

People tell me have told me this for years.

What doesn't matter what you think, what does matter?

What you think? The Bible doesn't say as a man

does, so is he. The Bible says as a man

thinketh, so is he. It does matter what you think.

Faults are blueprints for actions in the States.

If you're going to build up something, if you're going to

build a house or even a garage or any type of building, you've

got to go to the authorities to get approval to build that, and

you take what they'll ask for you.

We need to see the blueprints, and the blueprints are just

drawings on the paper that gives the authorities the dimensions

of the, the building, where the building's going to be located,

and they approve it if it meets within the codes of the the

area, they approve that. Now, the blueprints are not the

building. You don't eat in the blueprints.

You don't sleep in the blueprints.

The blueprints are just showing you what the building's going to

look like. Well, listen, faults are

blueprints for actions. You keep thinking those same

thoughts long enough, you'll eventually do it.

Remember what I said to you earlier that the average person

thinks 60 processes 60,000 thoughts a day, and that

neuroscientist tell us that 90% are repetitive?

So if we think 60,000 thoughts a day, 54,000 of them are the same

thought. Now that's wonderful.

That's a wonderful truth to know if your thoughts that you're

thinking are you're blessed, God loves you, He wants you well, he

wants you healed. He wants you family well, he

wants you family healed. If you're thinking those kind of

thoughts, 54,000 of them a day would be wonderful.

But if you get those negative. Thoughts.

Go kill that person. Go injure that person.

People ask me all the time how in America, how in the world in

America, can people grab a gun and go into an elementary school

and kill innocent babies? How do they?

Do that because 54,000 times a day for the last week proceeding

they thought it. It was stuck in their mind.

And thoughts are blueprints for actions.

You think it long enough, you're going to act it out.

See, that's why it's so important.

You and I take our thoughts captive.

OK, let me give you a script. I can tell some of you look at

me like you're crazy. No, I got delivered from.

Crazy years ago. Let me, let me give you some

scriptures that prove that to you.

Turn with me to Matthew chapter 15.

Matthew 15 · chapter mention

Matthew chapter 15, verse #17 If if you read your Bible at all,

Matthew 15 · chapter mention

you've read this verse of Scripture and I'd read it for

years and the truth slipped by me until one day the Lord showed

it to me. Look at Matthew chapter 15,

Matthew 15:17

verse 17. Jesus is talking.

This is this is red letter stuff.

Jesus is talking. He says, do you not yet

understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach

and is eliminated? Now there's no spiritual truth

to that whatsoever. There's no, there's nothing

spiritual about that right there.

I just want you to know I'm just reading it because it's in

there, OK? Literally what he's saying, fish

and chips in, fish and chips out.

That's exactly what he's saying. But look at the truth comes in

verse 18 and 19. But those things which proceed

out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.

Now look at verse 19. For out of the heart proceed

evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications,

thefts, false witness, blasphemies.

These are the things which defile a man.

But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.

Now if I was to tell you somebody quote that verse to me,

you'd say for Alba heart proceed murders, adulteries,

fornication, thefts, false witness, blasphemous.

You would quote that like that for Alba heart proceed murders,

adulteries, fornication, thefts with false, false witness and

blasphemous. But notice what he said.

The first thing that comes out of your heart is for out of the

heart. Notice what he says, verse 19.

For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts.

Now how can an evil thought come out of your heart?

I don't know what you're thinking.

I don't know what Aiden's thinking.

I don't know what my friends are thinking here.

I don't know what any of you are thinking.

Yet Jesus says for out of the heart, the first thing that

comes out is, is evil thoughts. How can you tell a person's?

Nobody knows what you're thinking, but you and God.

Out of the heart precede evil thoughts.

How do we know what a person's thinking?

Notice out of the heart. Proceed evil thoughts, murders,

adultery's fornica. You know, murder begins with a

thought. Adultery begins with a thought.

Fornication begin. Why?

Because thoughts are blueprints for actions.

You think it long enough, you're going to act on it.

You're going to do it. It's going to become a reality

in your life. I get calls quite often from

businessmen and business women. Who travel for their work,

they're in a H2 or three nights a week and out there in this

world, it's a very sensual, seductive world and good

Christian godly men and women will call me and say pastor,

it's seductive, sensual. How can I stay faithful to my

wife? How can I stay faithful to my

husband? I'm around people of the

opposite sex all day long. I'm I'm, I'm eating with them.

We are doing social dinners, we're doing business dinners

and, and we spend more time with them than I do with my, my own

family many weeks of the year. How can I maintain my my honesty

and and faithfulness to my family?

And it's very simple. You don't think it, you don't go

there in your thought life. You will not go there in your

actions because thoughts are blueprints for actions.

Every sin that you and I have committed, it began with a

fault. We entertain the fault, and then

the thought became an action. So number one, our direction in

life is determined by our thought life #2 our quality of

life is determined by our thought life #3 Our thoughts are

blueprints for actions #4 As Christians, how many of you are

believers in Jesus Christ? Raise your hand.

Yeah, thank you. As Christians, you and I are

commanded to be the gatekeepers of our thought life.

It's not your pastor's jobs, not your spouse's jobs, not your

parents. Job.

It's not the government's job. It's not social media's job.

You and I are commanded to be the gatekeepers.

Of our thought life. Look at Romans chapter 12 verse

Romans 12 · chapter mention

one and two, Romans chapter 12 verses one and two.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

In Romans chapter 12, verses one and two, it says in the new King

Romans 12 · chapter mention

James, Romans 12/1 and two. I beseech you therefore,

brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a

living sacrifice wholly acceptable to God, which is your

reasonable service, and do not be conformed to this world, but

be transformed by the renewing of your What's that next word

mine that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and

perfect will of God. Do you realize he's talking to

believers. He's talking to people who've

made Jesus the Lord of their life.

He's talking to people who've been delivered from the power of

darkness translated into the Kingdom of God's dear Son.

He's talking to people who've been filled with the Spirit.

He's talking to people who've been discipled by the apostle

Paul personally. And he said, now once you give

your heart to Jesus, you've got two things you're supposed to

do. You got to keep your fleshed

under control, and you got to make sure your mind changes the

way it thinks. See, we are commanded to be the

gatekeepers. Of our thought life.

And see what happens. A lot of us, we give our heart

to Christ. We get changed here, but we

never get this changed. We still think the same way.

Have you, have you? The apostle Paul said it this

way. It's amazing what he's he said

it this way. He says the things I don't want

to do, I end up doing. And he says the things I wished

I would do, I don't do them. And he says, oh, wretched man

that I am, who deliver? Who would deliver me from this

body of death? I don't know about you, but I

have a struggle every day with my flesh.

Have you? I struggle and you guys are so.

Polite in traffic? I've never seen that politeness

in all my life. I honestly, I'm, I'm, I'm not

blowing smoke here. I mean, people will let you out

in the middle of traffic. They'll let, they'll stop and

let you turn and cut them off. In America, you don't do that.

It's every man for himself. If you get out, you got to bully

your way out. Or you wait till the end of the

line, 2 hours later, that's when you're getting out.

You folks are the most kind people.

I need your patience when it comes to driving.

Because if somebody cuts me off in traffic, my flesh wants to

pull up beside them, shake my fist.

What do you mean cutting me off in traffic?

And here's my greatest driving. I hate people drive in America.

We drive on the right y'all drive on the left, so your fast

lanes the right correct our fast lanes the left peep in America

people's driving slow in the fast lane.

Oh brother, that incites my flesh to the point that I want

to go Antichrist on them. I mean, it's, it's just here,

it's driving fast, slow in the right lane.

And, and you know, when that happens and you understand this,

there will be things happening in your, your flesh wants

revenge. Somebody says something hurtful

to you and your flesh wants to respond with something hurtful

to them. Somebody says something to you.

And and and and and stabs. You with a with a comment or

with a joke or something and you want to stab them back.

Somebody does you wrong and you want your flesh wants to get

revenge. See that's our flesh, but our

spirit man that's been born again.

When they cut me off in traffic, my flesh says drive around them,

cut them off and wave your fist in their face.

That's my flesh. My spirit man says let him go be

Irish, let them go be nice to them.

Don't drive up beside them and just forgive them and let them

go. Be patient.

See, there's this constant, there's this constant tension.

There's this constant pull every day of our lives between our

flesh wanting to go selfish and revengeful and hurtful, and our

spirit that has Jesus wants to walk in love, kindness and

forgiveness. Every day there's this tension.

It's tension and you and I have to decide, are we going to

follow our flesh? Are we going to follow our

spirit, our heart that's born again?

Paul says it like this. He says we have this treasure,

this born again experience, this salvation experience in an

earthen vessel. See, our spirit is born again,

but our flesh is not born again. We got to keep it under control.

So you've got your flesh pulling you towards sin and selfishness.

You got your spirit that's born again, that's pulling you toward

righteousness in Christ and love and forgiveness and it's one

against one. Just do the numbers.

It's a. Fight every day.

Your flesh fighting against your spirit, your flesh wanting to

cuss them out, your spirit wanting to love them out.

I mean, it's just a there's just this tension every day.

And the arbitrator, the one who will determine which direction

you go. Is your soul, your mind, your

will and emotions? And if your mind has been

renewed with the word of God, guess what will happen when that

temptation comes? When that injury comes?

Your mind, which has been renewed with the Word of God.

Will be reminded of God's scripture to walk in love, walk

in forgiveness, walk in mercy and your your soul will hook up

with your spirit and guess what? Two against 1A win.

Every time people ask me I'll tell how can Christian people do

such sinful things? I know they love Jesus because

they ain't got their mind renewed.

See their flesh, all your flesh will always want to do bad, and

your spirit will always want to do right.

It's who you got if you got your mind renewed or not.

Because if you're, if you have Jesus in your heart wanting to

do good and your flesh is wanting to do bad, but your

mind's not renewed with the word of God.

And that temptation comes. All of a sudden you don't have

any scriptures to come to mind. And all of a sudden your mind

will just jump in with your flesh.

Yeah, get them back. Yeah, talk about them.

Yeah, get revenge on them. Yeah, hurt them back.

And all of a sudden, 2 An unrenewed mind.

And a selfish flesh will win every time against the Spirit of

God that's on the inside of you. So this, this battle that takes

place, that's why you and I are the gatekeepers of our minds and

our thought life. That's why the Bible says get

your mind renewed with the word of God.

And you do that every day by being a disciple of reading,

reading the word of God, committing the word of God to

your mind and into your heart. Finally, the fifth thing,

because I'm getting hungry. The fifth thing is simply this.

More fish and chips and seafood chowder.

Hallelujah. If you don't remember anything

else I've said, and I'm said a lot, thank you.

You're so kind, you're so patient, attentive.

The fifth thing is this, if you don't remember anything else I

say remember this. You don't have to take ownership

of every thought that pops in your mind.

Have you ever had a what I call a rogue thought?

I mean, you, you'd be just doing nothing in particular and just

having a good day. And all of a sudden now the

clear blue, the craziest, dirtiest, unhealthy, fearful

thought, or just pop in your mind and you'll say, man, where

did that come from? Where did that thought come from

years ago? That's what sent me into my

depression. A terrible, impure and unhealthy

thought popped in my mind out of the clear blue.

And I thought because it popped in my mind, it came from me.

You do not have to take ownership of every thought that

pops in your mind. Satan operates in the arena of

thought #1 The direction we pursue in life is determined by

our thought life #2 Not only is the direction we pursue, but the

quality of life is determined by our thought life #3.

Our thoughts are blueprints for actions #4 You and I are the

gatekeepers of our thoughts. We must keep our mind renewed

with the Word of God. And finally #5 you don't have to

take ownership of every thought that pops in your mind.

If an unhealthy, fearful, revengeful, tormenting, doubtful

thought pops in your mind, you don't have to say, well, that

must be me thinking that you just say no, I don't.

I resist that thought. I will not receive that thought

that did not come from my born again, spirit filled spirit.

That's from the devil. And I'll not have it and it will

not entertain it in my mind. But if you ever take ownership

of that thought, then you'll start thinking I'm terrible, I'm

dirty, I'm ugly. See, I can't tell you the young

ladies who have been in our prayer lines and services,

hundreds of services, who when they walk up and they'll say,

I'll say, what are we praying about?

And they say, I just have such a low self esteem.

I said, what do you mean? You have a well, I've just

always believed I'm ugly and they're beautiful, absolutely

beautiful. But because they took ownership

of a rogue fault, it affected not only their direction, but

their quality of life. And you don't have to take

ownership of every thought that pops in your mind.

Amen. Thank you for being so

attentive, Josh. I see why you love them so much.

I see why you love them so much. Lord Jesus, Amanda and I are so

honored to be here today to receive this invitation to

common speak for these beautiful people.

Now I pray, I pray, I ask that you would take these truths that

you've taught me and help our people to feed on them and it

make change in their thinking. Your words alive and powerful

and I've taught them the word so let the word do its work in

their lives in Jesus name, Amen. Now we're going to finish here.

I'm Amanda and I want to pray for anybody.

We always end our services praying for people who are

struggling with depression or bipolar or any type of fear or

or mental health, post traumatic stress or whatever it might be,

just just you're stuck in your thinking and it's making you

blue and discouraged. We want to pray for you.

We're going to lay hands on you. Now what will happen?

We lay hands on you because there's an anointing upon us for

this. We lay hands.

There'll be a temporary reprieve.

There'll be a peace come upon you.

But then after you leave here tomorrow, you've got to get your

start, getting your mind renewed with the word of God.

And I talk, I give you step by step how to do that in my book.

I just didn't have time today step by step how to do that in

the book, how to get your mind renewed with the word of God.

So if you want prayer, pastor's going to come.

Pastor Brad's going to come and give us some direction how to do

it. But if you want prayer, we would

love to pray for you. If you don't want prayer and

we're up here busy praying, it's just been an honor and I don't

get to talk to you. It's just been an honor.

And once again, we're going to pray for you from now on.

The you Irish people have gotten our hearts.

Thank you for listening to the Triumph Church podcast this

week. If it was a blessing to you,

share it with someone you know. For more information on Triumph

Church, you can visit us at www.triumphchurch.ie.