The Problem With Stinkin Thinkin!!

2nd Timothy 1:7. “For God did not give us a spirit of fear, but a spirit of love, of power, and self control.”

Good afternoon,

I went to a class today on Parris Island. It was a class on teaching. The gentleman who instructed the class was a very good teacher. He got his points across with outstanding clarity.

We were asked about teachers from our past school days, and if we did have a special one, what was it about that particular teacher that made his or her teaching so special. I do remember some of my school teachers but I don’t think my mind was in the learning mode back in those days. I thought mostly about what I call “stinkin thinkin.” My thoughts were about the cute girls who were all over the place. Also I was always thinking about how to get more money, and if I was going to skip school the next day, what was I going to write on my excuse note.

Stinkin thinkin! Have you ever had any of these kinds of thoughts? I bet I can answer that one from here.

My Master teacher is Jesus. I have learned, and am still learning, from Him more than all the other teachers in my life. Jesus helps keep my thinking in order. He has given me a Comforter to help me with my learning. Also He has provided a special Guide for me in all that I attempt to do.

Intro: Now I know many readers will not agree with this message about "Stinkin Thinkin." I am a learner or disciple of Jesus therefore, learning is a life long process and I do not claim to know it all. One thing I do know is what we think about has a great deal to do with what we do.

Ask yourself this question: Do the things you look at affect the way you act, look, and respond in your daily decision making process?

If a person sits around watching pornography, what would be on that persons mind a large portion of the time? If someone spends a great deal of their time watching shows like Jerry Springer with all its perversions, what would be on the mind of the one watching? The eyes are the lamp of the body.

ANOTHER VIEW:
In the book of Job we read that God took the hedge from around Job so that Satan could attack him. So from reading this Scripture, one way for Satan to get at us is for God to open us up to him. I truly believe this can happen. I also believe that we as individuals, more times that not, open the gateway for Satan with our own thought process.

LAMP OF THE BODY:
Matthew 6: 22-23, "The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness."

The eye is the lamp to the body. What comes in through our eyes has a great deal to do with how our body feels and acts. If we look at things that are not good, and the list is endless, we will be affected in some way.

In short, looking at negative things will more times than not produce negative results. On the other hand, looking at or taking in positive things will more times than not, produce positive results.

I guess my reason for writing this is to inform whom ever in the importance of what we take in with our eyes. What we take in through the eyes affects the mind. And what goes into the mind affects the rest of the body.

Our thoughts and expectations weld tremendous power and influence in our lives. Our actions are a direct result of our thoughts. If we have a negative mind, we will most likely have a negative life. If on the other hand, we renew our mind according to God’s Word, we will, as Roman 12:2 promises, prove out in our experience, “the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

We cannot expect to have a positive overcoming Christian life with a negative, worried, fearful mind. How many of you realize that? Because we’ll eventually become influenced by what we see or take in.
Our mind and what we put into it plays a tremendous role in our walk of faith.

WE ARE IN A WAR:
In the book of Ephesians there is a principle that we need to realize or a great truth there. It is, “We are in a war.” There is a war going on, but it’s not a just a battle in the physical realm; it is also in the spiritual realm. You might even say it’s in the unseen or mental realm. You’ve got to realize there is a war going on whether we like it or not. We have an enemy (Satan) and one way the enemy can get into our personality, into our emotions, into our thoughts, is through our eyes and then into the mind. (Be careful what you look at and of Stinkin Thinkin.)

We must realize we do have some control as to what enters the gateway to our mind. One access that Satan has is the access that we give him. Now listen, with all the sincerity and compassion I can, if today we have a worried mind, or a fearful mind, or an anxious mind or even if our mind is racing around with anger or unforgiveness or bitterness, unfortunately, I believe we have opened up the gateway for the enemy, and by our own choice have given him access into our life!

REAL TRUTH:
Jesus said “the truth will set you free.” God said, “People are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” We all need to realize where the trouble can come from. Many times we open up the gateway by stinkin thinkin.

Life is a series of choices, none of us are robots. God gave the majority of us the power of making our own decisions. We are creatures of choice and we all have a will and decision making power of our own.Each day we are bombarded with hundreds and hundreds of thoughts that come against our mind. We must choose which one to believe, which one to act on, and which ones to throw down and disregard and forget about.

When we dwell on bad thinking we can allow that thought pattern to build a stronghold in our mind, then we will most likely, make choices that are not inline with the will of God and we will have to, in all probability, suffer the consequence there of.

We must listen to the truth from the teaching of Jesus. He said, “My Word is Truth and the truth will set you free.” Real truth comes from the Word of God.

ABOUT FEAR:

If Jesus builds by teaching the truth what does Satan use? Satan works by telling us lies which builds fear. Fear can bring us anxiety, worry, doubt and unbelief. Twenty-fours hours a day we can be bombarded with thoughts that can bring fear into our mind. That is just what Satan wants to do. He wants us to fear today, tomorrow and on into the future. He wants to break down our spirit and keep us in a frame of stinkin thinkin. He wants us to have a fear of failure, to have a fear of not being accepted, to have fear of not having enough money. He wants us to have a fear of not staying healthy. We must realize that many of those fears will not come to pass if we don't bite into his lies and listen to them and believe them and act on them.

It’s when we act upon fear that fear can bring things to pass. Just like truth or faith, can bring things to pass, fear also can bring things to pass. Job said, “The thing that I greatly feared came upon me.”

Our enemy, Satan, is never satisfied until we are totally and completely destroyed. He doesn’t leave us where we are; he wants to totally make us useless for the Kingdom of God.

If you see today that you are having any of those negative thoughts, you’ve got to make a choice to cast them down. Stop thinking about them and whatever you do, don’t act on fear because then that fear can give the enemy the right to bring fear to pass.

The Bible says in Matthew 8:13, Jesus said, “As you have believed, so it will be done unto you.”

WHAT ABOUT YOU?

What have you been believing lately? Have you believing the lies of the enemy? If so, then you should take the time to get into the Word of God and the teaching of Jesus, find the promises in the Scriptures, meditate on them, and believe what God says about you and to you!!

Ask yourself right now, “What have I been thinking about?”

We should regularly examine our thought life and if we find any “stinkin thinkin” going on, then we should flush them.

God is very clear about what we should think about. Philippians 4:8 says this…

”Think on things that are pure, things that are lovely, things that are wholesome, things that are true, things that are honest, things that of good report.”

So from now on, think on things that build you up not things that tear you down.

ThanksRobert N. Graves,

Sr.Fisherman for Christ.