Study Notes

Foundation Statement: You live a character life by directing your mind to the things of the spirit with the words of your mouth. – Romans 7:18, 8:5

 

I.      To perform character acts and do what’s right you must direct your mind to the things of the spirit (Romans 7:15-8:5)

A.    To walk in character & fulfill what’s right where the Word is concerned u must walk in the spirit-Rom 8:4

1.      A walk in the spirit is a walk that’s in line with the Word which is right; A walk in the flesh is walk that’s in opposition to the Word (John 6:63)

B.     How do I walk in the spirit and in turn walk in character? (Romans 8:5)

1.      The key to walking in the spirit & in turn walking in character, is to direct your mind to the things of the spirit; Where you direct your mind is where you direct your life (Is 55:8-11)

2.      To direct ur mind to the things of the spirit u direct ur mind to the Word which is spirit (John 6:63)

a.    To do what’s right you’re going 2 have 2 direct your mind to what’s right and the Word is right

b.    Direct your mind to the word of God and you’ll walk in character

3.      Those who fulfill the righteousness of the law are those who walk in the spirit, those who walk in the spirit are those who direct their mind the things of the spirit

C.    The problem is not in what you’re doing but it’s in where you’ve directed your thoughts to  (Rom 8:7 – This doesn’t say the flesh is enmity against God it says the carnal mind is)

1.      IDENTIFY THE PROBLEM

a.    You don’t correct wrong actions with right actions; you correct wrong actions with directing your thoughts to right thinking

b.    People who try to change the way they act without directing their thoughts to something different are out of divine order

1)       To change the fruit you have to change the root that produced it

2)       It’s insanity 2 expect 2 do something different w/o directing ur mind to something different

2.      Every man is tempted & sins when he’s drawn to it by giving thought to it (Js 1:14-16)

a.    You were drawn away and tempted when you turned your thoughts upon that thing and began to longer after it; Lust works in the mind

b.    You got tempted because you turned your mind upon it

1)       When you turned your mind upon it you started to get enticed

c.     That lustful thought gives birth to you doing it; When you turn your thoughts upon it you’re forming in the womb of your thinking

1)       If you don’t want to conceive a baby don’t get involved in the laws that conceive a baby; if you don’t want to conceive non-character acts, then don’t get involved in the laws that give birth to them

d.    2 Samuel 11:1-2 – David could have changed this whole thing if he would have directed his thoughts to the things of the spirit

3.      Put a stop to thinking about those evil cravings (Romans 13:14 AMP)

a.    When you think about it or take the thought of it you’ve just set the law into motion that will lead to you doing it

4.      This whole process takes place every time you miss it (James 1:14)

a.    You don’t remember being tempted to do it or turning your mind upon it because your way of thinking is still aligned with it

D.    You direct your thoughts with the words of your mouth

1.      Matthew 6:31 – You take the thought or cast it down by saying it

a.    Words are building blocks that produce fortresses of thought in your mind called strongholds

1)       EX: Count in your head from 1 to 10 and out loud say your name

a)     Your mind has to stop to hear what your mouth is saying

b.    Proverbs 30:32 – When you get an evil thought put your hand over your mouth so that you don’t take it by saying it

1)       When Satan is bombarding you with thoughts and you don’t open your mouth and take the thought of God’s Word you get Satan’s thought by default

a)     Saying nothing is as wrong as saying the wrong thing

2.      Bring your thoughts into captivity to the obedience of what the Word says (2 Corinthians 10:5)

a.    You can’t fight a spiritual battle quietly; You r in a battle sitting there w/ ur sword in it’s sheath

3.      Your words are key to your character life because they are going to determine where your thoughts are directed

a.    Where your words go, your thoughts go, where your thoughts go, you go (Js 3:2-4)

1)       The man who doesn’t miss it in his talking is THE SAME as a perfect man of character

a)     We measure character by measuring the words that come out of ur mouth all the time

b)     If a man can control his mouth he can control his thoughts & in turn, his character

2)       Wherever the bit goes the horse goes; wherever the rudder goes the ship goes; wherever your tongue goes your thoughts go and you go. 

b.    James 1:26 – If you can’t control your tongue there is no hope for you

c.     Proverbs 18:21, Romans 8:6 – Life and death are in the power of the tongue because your tongue is going to determine whether or not you’re carnally-minded or spiritually-minded and your mind is going to set the direction for your life either in line with God and his word and in opposition to God and His word

4.      There’s a difference in what you know and what you direct your mind to

a.    You don’t do what you know, you do what you direct your mind to

II.     Directing your mind to the things of the spirit with the words of your mouth will lead to a character life 

A.    Jesus walked in character because he directed his mind to the things of the spirit with the words of his mouth (Matthew 4:1-11)

1.      The anointing has just come on Jesus and Satan shows up to stop that anointing.  His method is to get Jesus to violate character because if he does there will be no operation of power-Mt 3:19

2.      The enemy’s desire is to get Jesus out of character.  Look at his method.

a.    He understands to do that he must present Jesus with a thought in the form of words.  If Jesus takes the thought it will lead him into a way that opposes what’s right (character) and cost him his power

1)       The enemy presents Jesus with words, to build thoughts, to cause him to go a way

3.      Every time the enemy presented Jesus with a thought Jesus responded by using His words to speak the word and redirect his thoughts to the things of the spirit

a.    Jesus didn’t ponder what Satan said to him; he immediately directed his thoughts with the words of his mouth to the word of God

b.    Jesus is taking the thought that he wants to take by saying it

1)       The importance of saying it; Jesus had to say it, you have to say it

2)       With the words of his mouth he is telling his mind what to think & those words came from his spirit

4.      If you be the son of God

a.    The fact was this: Up until this point he had no physical evidence to prove that he was in fact the son of God; Up until this point Jesus hadn’t done any miracles

b.    He stripped himself of all his divinity; He didn’t come knowing something (Phil 2:6)

1)       He found himself in the scripture (Luke 4:16)

c.     He knew he was the son of God the same way you and I know that we are the sons of God; the spirit bore witness with His spirit (Romans 8:16)

1)       Luke 2:49 – He knew at the age of 12 that he was the son of God

d.    4-I don’t live by the physical, I live by what the word of God says

e.    6-It’s written I don’t test God or His word to see if it works

f.      10-It’s written I am to worship Lord my God and him only am I to serve

B.     Adam and Eve didn’t walk in character because they didn’t direct their minds to the things of the spirit (Genesis 3:1-6)

1.      The enemy wants Adam and Eve to step out of character so that they’ll have no power and he begins the process the same way he started it with Jesus and presented Adam and Eve with words, to build thoughts, to cause them to go a way

2.      1-Up until that point she hadn’t even thought about eating that tree until the thought was presented to her in word form

a.    The only thought that she had about that tree is the one that God gave to Adam and that was you don’t eat if you do you will die (Gen 2:17)

3.      1-3-The first time Satan presented a thought Eve redirected her thoughts to what God said with the words of her mouth

4.      4-6-The second time Satan presented a thought, she said nothing

a.    As many times as he comes at you is a many times as you come back with the Word in mouth and you direct your mind to the word of God

1)       2 Cor10:5-You are to cast down EVERY imagination and high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God

a)     Satan came at Jesus 3 times and Jesus came back 3 times

b)     If you’ll take the first thought you’ll take the second

b.    She took the thought that Satan gave her

1)       They knew it was wrong to eat that tree, but they didn’t direct their minds to it

5.      Satan presented words that gave them a thought (they didn’t redirect their minds) it led them in a way that wasn’t character and they lost their power