04/18/2021: Winning the War: Week 2
Wires Crossed
Part of Winning the War in Your Mind
April 16, 2021

WTWIYM_Social-Square.jpg

TEACHING NOTES

When we change the way we think…we change the way we live

Our lives are always moving in the direction of our strongest thoughts

If you don’t control what you think, you’ll never be able to control what you do.

Our minds typically drift away from truth.

Think about what you think about

Two Key Thoughts:

Identify the biggest stronghold that is holding you back
• A stronghold is something that is holding you prisoner based on a lie
• You cannot defeat what you don’t define

Name the truth that demolishes that stronghold

Homework

  1. Write down the stronghold holding you back.

  2. Write a sentence that demolishes that stronghold.

Write it, think it, confess it until you believe it

Examples

Lacking confidence: My confidence is in Christ and Christ alone. Because his spirit lives within me, I can do everything He calls me to do.

Lustful thoughts: I am not a slave to lustful thoughts because God has purified my mind. I will honor Him with my eyes and thoughts. My God is faithful. Even if I am tempted, He will always give me a way out.

Comfort in food/drink: When I’m stressed I turned to God, not food/drink. I come to Jesus because He is what I need. In Him, I find strength and comfort.

Worry: Because of Christ, I’m not anxious about anything. I cast my cares on God because He cares for me. I have the peace of God dwelling in my heart and ruling my mind.

Knowing God’s will: My life belongs to God. Daily I seek Him and daily He directs my steps. I know His voice and He leads me to His perfect will.

Truths

For those of you who believe Jesus is who he claims to be…the Son of God…the Messiah…the Savior…here are truths for your life…
• You are strong and mighty.
• You have the same power that raised Christ from the dead dwelling inside of you.
• You are a weapon of righteousness in a world of darkness.
• You are not your past.
• You are not what you did.
• You are who God says you are…you are his child
• He says you’re forgiven.
• He says you’re redeemed.
• He says you’re free.
• You are not a hostage to your unhealthy thoughts.
• The weapons you fight with are not the weapons of this world. They have power to demolish strongholds.
• You have the mind of Christ directing your thoughts.
• You have the word of God directing your steps.
• Worry is not your master.
• His peace guards your heart, guards your mind, and guards your soul in Christ Jesus.
• God has not given you a spirit of fear but a spirit of power and love and of a sound mind.
• The Lord is your helper. There is no need to fear
• You are not a slave to your habits.
• You are not a prisoner to your past.
• You have been rescued by the power of darkness and into the kingdom of God’s light.
• Your God will bless you abundantly so that in all things, at all times, you have everything you need to do everything that God has called you to do.
• Nothing will separate you from the love of God. Not death, not demons, not the present, not the past. No power on earth can separate you from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

TALK IT OVER

INTRODUCTION
All too often the things we let run through our minds are not always positive. When we allow that to happen over and over again, the pathways in our brains get rutted in negative thoughts and our “wires get crossed”. We hope that this series helps us change the way we think which will change the way we live.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Do you ever find yourself acting irrationally based on a lie you believe about yourself? If so, how?
2. The lies we believe about ourselves are often rooted in childhood experiences. Have you experienced this in your own life? How has it affected you?
3. Have you meditated on God’s truth before? What was that experience like?
4. What is the dominant stronghold in your life?
5. What are some truths from God’s Word that you can write, meditate on, and confess to combat it?

MOVING FORWARD
Jesus said that His truth will set you free. Begin to replace the lies you have been telling yourself with the truth of the love of Jesus. Our lives are always moving in the direction of our strongest thoughts. If you don’t like where your thoughts are taking you, then you need to change the way you think.

CHANGING YOUR MIND

Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. —Romans 12:2 (NIV)