1 John 5:1 says, “whosever believes that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God.”
If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, then you are born of God. Now look down to verse 4, it says, “whatever is born of God…” so now that is talking about the Christian, a believer, “whatsoever is born of God, overcomes the world. And this is the victory which overcomes the world, even our faith.”
This is saying that because of who you are now, you’re in victory, you are born into victory. You are on the winning team! The first thing we've got to come to come to terms with regarding how to overcome absolutely anything is the truth that we are not fighting for victory, but we are fighting from victory. We’re not in defeat, no matter how bad the circumstances or situation, it doesn't matter how difficult it gets because we’re above it!
A year before my father passed away I took an opportunity to share the Gospel with him and he received Christ and became a Christian. That was one of the best days of my life. Later on, he got diagnosed with cancer and he died. Yes, we fought it but he died. That’s the reality of it. But he passed into eternal life. He’s with Jesus forever. God didn't kill him, cancer did and now my dad is living forever in absolute victory with Jesus. Yes, cancer took him, but there’s a far greater reality to focus on, and that is an eternity with Jesus!
Sometimes we are bitterly unhappy because we haven’t got our healing yet or haven’t received our answer to our prayer. If you're miserable while waiting for your manifestation it's a bad testimony! We can “rejoice in the Lord always!”
Thanksgiving and praise are also indicators of true faith, and so if we're moaning more than we're praising, there's a good chance we're in unbelief and not in faith. And then we will not see the manifestation of what we are trusting for!
Even though there is healing now, and if you know me you know that I believe that one hundred per cent, we can rejoice when we don't experience what we should be. We need to put things into perspective.
We have world overcoming faith. We are more than conquerors. It doesn't matter what happens to us – how are you going to respond to it? How are you going to deal with it? Health, finances, tragedies… Are you going to let it steal your joy and peace? Nehemiah 8:10 says that “the joy of the Lord is your strength.” It doesn't say that His joy is your strength when x,y,z happens... It says that “the joy of the Lord IS your strength.” This means that it is independent of your circumstances! It doesn't matter what happens in your life, you can experience the joy of the Lord. It is a choice.
What if you lost absolutely everything? Are you going to get depressed? Are you going to fall apart like a $2-suitcase or an infomercial special? Are you going to allow it to get you down? Are you going to allow it to destroy everything about you?
I know of people who didn't lose everything but they lost a lot, and as a result they got depressed, and even committed suicide. “I can’t believe what’s going on... look what happened!” I sympathize with people going through difficulties - I know that life can be rough and tough! I also experience problems in my life, but I choose not to allow them authority in my life. They will not determine my joy or peace and I will not allow problems to make decisions for me - I make decisions with God. I choose to make problems seem small in my life by glorifying God and making Him seem much bigger because He is! If you change your focus it will change your experience.
You can overcome anything negative, because of Jesus. You can have joy and peace no matter how big the problem is, all because you have a relationship with Jesus! It all boils down to how you looking at things.
Romans 12:2 says that “we are changed, transformed by the renewing or changing of our minds.” So if you want to see the change in your life, you've got to change your way of thinking. Proverbs 23:7 says, ‘as a man thinks in his heart, so is he’. The way you think determines the way you are. There is a process of thinking that leads to victory, and there’s a process of thinking that leads to defeat. That explains why a lot of us are in the mess we are in. How have we been thinking up until now has determined where we are at now. Whatever you are experiencing is a result of what you have been believing up until now.
Romans chapter 8:6 says, “for to be carnally minded is death, to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” And so this is saying that to be carnal minded equals death. Spiritual mindedness equals peace and life. There is no grey area. 'Carnal mindedness' is just natural thinking. It’s not even just a case of thinking of sin and evil, it can be considering the natural (what you see, hear and feel) more than the supernatural (what God's Word says). Spiritual mindedness is being Word-minded, God-focused, Christ-centered in your mind and what you are thinking on. This kind of thinking produces, or equals, life and peace. What you think about is important. Isaiah 26:3 says, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trust in You.” Verse 4 goes on to say, “trust ye in the Lord forever, for in the Lord, Jehovah is everlasting strength.”
Peace doesn't come from a pill. Peace doesn't come from yoga. Peace is the natural by-product of having your mind focused on God. Peace is a fruit or result of you just focusing on God and His Word. If you are focused on things that are carnal you aren't going to experience peace. You aren't going to experience abundant life. What you are going to experience is…………..death! And everything that death means. Who wants that? Not me!!