I had a vision and I feel the urgency to share this with you today. I saw a vision of someone being attacked by arrows that were flying from different directions. To my understanding, these arrows represent words or thoughts that are not good. And the person have been attacked by all these kinds of thoughts and words that are not supposed to be there, that are not right for the person, and that would cause the person to feel bad about himself or herself.
Now, the enemy will always tell you that you're not good enough to be blessed, e.g. "I'm not holy enough", "I'm not spiritual enough", "I'm a disappointment", "Everyone is disappointed with me", "I'm such a failure", "Everything failed in my hands", "I've not done enough", "It's never enough", "I don't deserve good things, because I'm not good enough", "God will not bless me, because I'm not good enough". And the list goes on. Sounds familiar?
Do not underestimate all these negative thoughts. These are arrows that are flying at you. Do not let them grow into your thought life. We all know that having the wrong self-perception and giving in to the depressing emotion will only bound you in self-defeat mindset. They prevent you from receiving God's blessing. They deter you from moving forward. And that is definitely not God's will for you.
To tell you the truth, having people attack you with negative thoughts/words is not as bad as you having those thoughts or words inside of you, and entertaining them. What is from the outside, it's not as scary as what is in the inside, when you agree with them.
Do not agree with those negative words or those bad words that are being said about you. You know, when we pray, we say: "Amen". That means we choose to agree with the Word of God, and with the prayer that's being prayed. And to say: "Amen" is to say: "Yes, I agree", and to let it be done. But when we have negative thoughts inside of us, it is your authority and your right to choose to rise up against those negative thoughts, and to say "No" to them.
So, let us resolve all these wrong mindsets together. First, you have to know that no one is perfectly good. In Romans 3:22-23, we are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. 'And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned, and we all fall short of God's glorious standard'. First of all, none of us is born perfectly good. Because all of us have fallen short of God's standard. Think about it. Whether it's only a small drop of sewage water, or a big scoop of sewage water being mixed in a bottle of drinking water, it is deemed contaminated. You won't want to drink from it. So, whether who is better or who is worse, whether who's sinned more or who's sinned lesser, no one can judge others. Hey, stop being harsh on yourself too! Yeah?
And next. It's our faith in God that helps us fulfill His standard. Romans 3:31 says, 'Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law'. Well, how is our faith in God help us fulfill His standard? When you have faith in God, you receive His saving grace, His righteousness, His enabling, and the personal guidance of His Holy Spirit. We will talk more about this later.
Now I want you to remember the next four steps, that whenever you have thoughts that are attacking you, that cause you to be down or feel condemned, or feel not good enough, or feel sad, or feel depressed, remember these four steps and apply them into your life. And this is what I've been doing since young. And it works for me. And I pray that it will work the same for you.
1. Take authority
In Luke 10:19, Jesus says, "Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. And nothing shall by any means hurt you."
Whatever negative or pessimistic words that you hear in your mind, take authority and bind them in the name of Jesus. Do not agree with them. Do not entertain them. Take authority immediately. For example, if it's fear, say it out loud: "I bind you, spirit of fear, in the name of Jesus." If it's something that keeps telling you that certain accidents will happen to you, take authority and say, "I bind you, spirit of accident, in the name of Jesus. No accident will happen to me." If it's suicidal thought, speak against it with authority, "I bind you, suicidal spirit! I bind you, spirit of depression! You are not from the Lord. I reject you. And get away from me!" Rise up and take authority for yourself, because Jesus has given you the authority to do so. Amen!
2. Speak God's Word to yourself
Jeremiah 29:11 says, 'For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.' Now, this is a Bible verse that many of us know. But how many of you really think deep about it? How many of you really agree with it? Let's agree with it today.
Whenever a negative thought comes to you, or whenever you have a thought that says that you are not good enough, or God will not be good to you; after you have taken authority over all those negative thoughts, don't just chase away negative thoughts and leave your mind empty. If God's thoughts toward you are with hope and future, fill your mind with what God says about you.
After taking authority over the negative thoughts in your mind, start speaking the anointed words of God that are related to your situation to yourself. For example, if it's fear, speak 2 Timothy 1:7 to yourself: "God has not given me a spirit of fear, but He has given me a Spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind." If it's the sense of inability or failure, speak Philippians 4:13 to yourself: "I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me!"
After speaking the Word of God to yourself, you will immediately feel the difference in your mind, in your emotion, and also in the spiritual atmosphere around you. Trust me in this. It works.
3. Ask for the help of the Holy Spirit
1 John 2:27 says, 'But you have received the Holy Spirit, and He lives within you, so you don't need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what He teaches is true - it is not a lie. So, just as He has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ.'
You know there's a reason that Jesus said He had to go, so that the Holy Spirit will come to all of us. If you would allow Him, the Holy Spirit would teach you and guide you in every area of your life. He will teach you to have the right thoughts and mindsets, because He will always remind you of the Word of God. It's through the Spirit of God and by the Word of God that your mindset can be transformed. And with the right mindset, you will make the right decision for yourself. And that will eventually change your life condition and situation. So, allow the Holy Spirit to involve in every area of your life.
4. Don't compare yourself with others, and learn to be contented
Galatians 6:4 says, 'Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won't need to compare yourself to anyone else.'
Now, many of us have read this Bible verse before. But many of us also do not give much attention to this Bible verse. You see, one of the many reasons people having the mindset of "I'm not good enough" is due to pride and ego. Ouch! I know this hurts, but you know, it's true.
I remember a Chinese saying, that says, 'There will always be a mountain higher than another'. It means there will always be someone else who is better than us. So, do not feel bad if there are others who are better than you in different aspects. If God's people would just mind their own business, spend their own personal time with God, ask for God's specific direction for their lives, seek to improve themselves, and not comparing themselves to others, they will be happier people, whatever vocation you are in, whether you have your own business, you're working nine to five job, or you are in ministry.
If you learn to apply Galatians 6:4 into your own life, you will definitely be happy people. Well, I always believe that to be able to feel contented will lead to a happy life and a happy mind.
So, whenever you feel overwhelmed by negative thoughts, remember all these steps.
First, take authority over those thoughts, those negative thoughts, fearful thoughts, threatening thoughts. Take authority over them. Second, speak God's Word to yourself. Speak whatever God's Word that will replace all those negative thoughts. Third, ask for the help of the Holy Spirit. It's only the Holy Spirit who can change a person inside-out. So, ask for His help, and He will help you, even to the small detail. Only He knows every thought of your mind, and so He can help you to overcome them. Finally, don't compare with others, and learn to be contented.
Let's pray together: "God, I pray for understanding for us who are here. Bring us to the understanding that we are saved and blessed because of our faith in You, and not because we have done good or well enough to deserve them. As we put our faith in You Lord, You are transforming our thoughts, changing us and perfecting us through Your Word and Your Spirit. As we focus on Your work in our lives, not comparing ourselves with others, and learn to be contented, we will learn the secret to a happier life. We thank You for Your love and grace upon us. In Jesus' name. Amen."
That's all my message for this time. If you think that this message will be helpful to others too, please share this with them. Thank you. God bless you. Have a nice day!
You can watch this teaching video by clicking here in TiC YouTube Channel