Sermon Central
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You Are What You Believe
Contributed by Dr. David Wesner on May 25, 2015 (message contributor)
Summary: If I determine that what the world teaches is the truth, I will believe like those in the world.
What is it that makes us who we are?
What is it that defines us?
What is it that leads us from one place in life to another?
To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure. In fact, both their minds and consciences are corrupt. 16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.
Speaking about unbelievers, a group which we were all once part of, a group from which we learned most if not ALL of our relationship and coping skills, Titus declares that everything that comes from such a mind is dishonest, unethical, shady, fraudulent, contaminated and warped.
Because that is what comes from such minds, he goes on to say, that
their thinking results in ACTIONS that DENY God!
Everything an unbeliever does dismisses God completely!
Unless we consciously dig deep within ourselves to ferret out ALL worldly thinking, we will continue to mix what we learned in the world’s system with Kingdom Thinking and cause it to become corrupt!!
We have to understand HOW this is happening even in our own lives!
God showed me years ago, when I first came back to Him, that there is actually a step-by-step process that reveals exactly HOW this happens.
1. What a person determines to be true produces what they believe.
If I determine that what the world teaches is the truth, I will believe like those in the world.
1. Life is a struggle.
2. Love is fleeting.
3. Fear is normal.
4. Hope is all we have.
5. I can create my own boundaries.
If, instead of believing the world, I determine that the Bible is true, then the Bible will produce what I believe.
In the Bible, we read where Jesus said, “I am the Truth.”
What will I believe if Jesus is my source of truth?
1. I will believe that To live I must die. (Struggle is gone.)
2. I will believe that God is love.
That God’s Love covers a multitude of sin.
That nothing can separate me from God’s love. (Not fleeting, it is eternal.)
3. I will believe that Fear is a spirit. (Not normal.)
4. I will believe that Faith comes from hearing God’s Word.
That Faith is hope on steroids. (Hope is not the last word!)
That I must live under the guidelines of the Kingdom.
2. What a person believes produces what they think.
If I believe, as the world teaches, that I am on my own in this life, then I will think like a loner.
1. I will think of myself above anyone else.
2. I will think that others want to take what I have.
3. I will think only about surviving.
4. My rule of thumb will be “by any means necessary.”
If I believe that I am a part of something larger than myself, like the Kingdom of God, then I will think higher thoughts: like Christ.
1. I will never think of myself first.
2. I will think that life is good.
3. I will think others need to have what I have.
4. I will think about God’s plans for my life.
What a person thinks produces what they say and how they act.
If I think, like the world, that life is hard, ruthless and cold:
1. I will act and speak indifferently to whatever comes my way.
2. I will act and speak as if nothing good will ever happen.
3. I will and speak act as if my dreams are a complete waste of time.
4. I will act and speak as if my life has no meaning.
If I think that the Kingdom of God is about righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost:
1. I will act and speak in a holy manner.
2. I will act and speak as if nothing is impossible with God.
3. I will act and speak as if I can find peace in any situation.
4. I will act and speak as if every thought I have is guided by God.
3. How a person speaks and acts produces the circumstances in which that person lives.
1. If I am miserable in all my actions, I will create misery in my life and everyone’s life that I touch.
2. If I am hesitant and unsure in all of my actions, I will create doubt in my life and in everyone’s life that I touch.
3. If there is anger in I all that I do, I will create hostility in my life and in everyone’s life that I touch.
1. If I am loving, joyful and act in peace, I will create tenderness, delight and harmony in my life and in the life of everyone that I touch.
