FIRST THOUGHT
This teaching will be about a Biblical principle that you
may never have heard of before pertaining to the renewed mind. Unless we are clear and concerned about this
subject, it may be difficult to learn and apply as an everyday habit in your
life. I myself, have experienced some
difficulty applying this principle because of all the distractions that are in
this world today. Besides distractions
there are also many temptations, no matter where we go, that the world throws
in our face as we try to assume the peace of God which is rightly ours to
claim.
I Corinthians 10: 13 -- There hath no temptation taken you but such as is
common to man: but God is faithful,
who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the
temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
I have been taught, in a three week Advanced Class on Biblical principles, that:
Your first thought
is from the true God and your second thought is from your old man.
This is a promise that sets like a diamond as far as importance is concerned regarding your renewed mind walk with God. The Bible mentions that a person who sets their mind on one goal and then quickly changes it to another is like a person who has two souls. I am going to show you this from the Word of God. We are also going to examine the word 'wavering' in detail. Many of the Scriptures that relate to the principle of First Thought are spelled out most dynamically and extensively in the book of James. Remember that the book of James is not written directly to the Church of the Body of Christ of which you and I belong. However, if it is not written to us, we can learn from that revelation. Only the seven Church epistles are written directly to born again believers. If you have studied this website extensively, you will know this by now. Let's take a look at the book of James in chapter 1.
James 1: 5 -- If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that
giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall
be given him.
People
misunderstand God today and do not realize how much He loves us and how simple
He has made things for us. If only we
would turn to Him and give Him the respect that He surely deserves. I am going to take you through verse eight
and then I will also give you a literal translation according to usage of these
verses. When I did my section on this
website entitled Verse By Verse, this Book of James was the first book that I
worked in this manner. I became so
overwhelmed with the simplicity and the promises that are in this book, that I
decided to continue doing teachings in this manner on many other books in the
Bible. The epistle of James is a mind
blower as you will see. Let me explain
something to you about verse five. Do
you see the part where it says God will give you wisdom liberally? The literal translation of this phrase
is: ‘willfully
without a second thought’. Now if that
doesn't get you excited, you really ought to check to see if you have a
pulse. Ask yourself how many times
during your day, do you ask God what to do before you do it? Can you imagine having such a source of
information on your side who is the creator of all life? People spin their wheels every single day
because they do something and then after they did it, they ask God if it was
okay. All of us are guilty of making
this mistake. So we need to renew our minds
-- change our thinking so that we develop a habit pattern of asking God first
before we do anything in our lives. And
how will God answer us? Willfully
without a second thought.
A few nights ago
I was walking in a Mall due to the hot weather. I was having no end of difficulty trying to remember someone's
name. I struggled with this for maybe
20 minutes or more. Then do you know
what I did? I asked God to help
me. In less than one minute he put a
picture in my mind of a certain object.
At first, I was unsure what this meant so I said to myself, what is the
purpose of this object. When I did, I
took the first letter of that purpose and immediately that person's name came
clearly to my mind. You may think
that's a trivial thing, but what if you have to make a life-and-death decision
and you depend on only your five senses which is your old man? Then you won't think that this principle is
so trivial, will you? It was just a
blessing to know that God was right there with me and He is always there with
you.
James 1: 6 -- But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the
sea driven with the wind and tossed.
The word ‘faith’
is the Greek word pistis and it means ‘to believe’. When we ask God for something we must believe that He will bring
it to pass and we must not have any doubt whatsoever that this is true. That's what the phrase means ‘nothing
wavering’. God goes on to explain that
a person who wavers is like a wave of the sea tossed back and forth. We will explain more about the word
‘wavering’ and its consequences in the next verse.
James 1: 7 -- For let not that man think that he shall receive any
thing of the Lord.
We will see that
a man who wavers is one who does not stay with his first thought. His mind flips back and forth from his first
thought to his second thought. God
clearly and simply says that that man should not think that he is going to
receive anything from the Lord. Isn't
that so simple? A child in kindergarten
can understand this verse. Looking back
at verse six we see that God is saying that you are to believe and to believe
100% that God will take care of you and He will meet your needs. Of course, during the process of the day we
make a number of decisions. We are
actually the sum total of all the decisions we have ever made in our
lifetime. Apparently, decision making
is extremely important and we want to make the decisions that God wants us to
make. The other god wants us to make
decisions according to his warped rules and regulations -- according to the
five senses. That is why when you are
about to make a decision, it is wise not to tell anyone about this
decision. If you believe in spiritual
matters, you will understand that the enemy may very well be present. You will then tell him what you are thinking
and about your decision and its subject matter. He will then take action to confuse you as much as possible and
to get you to make the decision that he wants you to make. This decision will only lead to some type of
destruction in your life.
So you see what
a simple principle we are studying and the great importance of mastering this
principle. I must tell you, at this
point, that you must be in fellowship with God to receive anything from God at
anytime. If you want to live like the
devil, then don't ask God for His help.
He simply will not give it to you because you are living in sin. So get your mind renewed to walk by the principles
in the Word of God first.
James 1: 8 -- A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
We cannot ignore the word ‘unstable’. God refers to this type of man as being
unstable in all of his ways. Do we not
even today, refer to an unstable person as someone who may have mental
issues? Do they not refer to a person
who suffers from schizophrenia as being a person who is double minded? You see, God is not trying to scare
anybody. He is simply stating the truth
and He never waters it down. I know
from almost 40 years of experience working the Word of God that many people are
walking around with what can be referred to as half thoughts in their mind. The world will only teach you half thoughts
-- these are unsound thoughts. That
way, the god of this world can control your mind and your thinking. In contrast, God’s Word teaches your mind
the truth and not facts. This truth is
from the creator of all life and the thoughts that we put into our mind that come
directly from that Word of God are WHOLE THOUGHTS. This is why so many people, when they begin to study the rightly
divided Word of God, get delivered in
their minds. The battlefield is in
between the ears. Whole thoughts
eventually start to overcome all the half thoughts that are in a person's
brain. This is the process that takes
place when we renew our mind to God's Word.
Yes, it is a slow process, but think of it this way. Every day gets a little bit better. I have to say this one thing. Many times I will speak to people or I will
observe their actions and I cannot help but see that their minds and thinking
are not sound by any means. I'll give
only one example. When a person is only
looking for attention no matter what they do or where they go, this is part of
an unsound mind. When you are at peace
with the true God, you do not take part in this type of behavior because it has
no importance at all to you or in any part of your life. If you are a person who walks around a mall
or anywhere and is constantly taking out your cell phone so that other people
will see you, you have a serious spiritual problem. It can be said from even a psychiatric point of view that your
mind is somewhat unstable. God’s Word
heals a person's mind and that person experiences peace for maybe the first
time in their life. Why in the world
would I be sitting here since 1998 teaching you God's Word and never once even
asking a person for some financial support?
I must have found something that is so precious that I cannot help but
to share it with you. Jesus Christ
never asked for money when he spoke God's Word. So I do the same. Do not
take this wrongly. You should tithe to
a church or organization that is teaching you God’s Word. I used to tithe so much money many years ago
that God gave me so much back that I don't need any money from anybody for any
reason and I enjoy teaching God’s Word without any remuneration. Let's get back to the book of James.
I am now going to give you that literal translation that
I promised you would receive pertaining to James chapter 1, verses 5 – 8. These literal translations were not just
thrown together, I can guarantee you. I
had an interesting time researching a lot of different materials including
different Bible translations, a very large concordance, a very reputable
Lexicon and every other source that I could get my hands on to give you the
clearest translation of the following verses.
It is my wish and it is God's Will that this literal translation will
bless you and help you to understand the verses concerned in the clearest
manner possible.
Literal: James Chapter One, Verses 5, 6, 7, 8. -- If you don't know what to do at times with the
knowledge that God has given you, when it comes to making wise decisions based
on the proper application of the Word, ASK GOD WHAT TO DO. He will answer your questions willfully
without a second thought. He will
answer the need/question/prayer freely, with simplicity and with a readiness of
heart. God does not scold or
reprove you when you ask Him for wisdom.
Word of Wisdom is one of the nine manifestations of the spirit that is
available to you. You must believe
when you ask, without hesitation, without separation or strife within yourself,
without doubt or indecision, without fluctuation or unsteadiness,
without trembling, BUT WITH POSITIVE BELIEVING. The man who wavers will not receive anything
from God. That man is double-minded
(two-souled) separated within himself entirely. He is unsettled, not standing fixed, not steady, and inconstant
in all his ways.
When God tells
you what to do, you just do it. Don’t
second-guess your decision. You will
see great blessings and deliverance in your life once you master this
principle.
Let’s now take a look
at a Scripture in Hebrews that relates to our subject of FIRST THOUGHT.
Hebrews 10: 23 – Let us hold fast the profession [confession] of our faith [hope], without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
The Word of God here
is saying to hold fast to what we confess with our mouth concerning our
expectations. AND do not waver (i.e. do
not give in or give way; do not bend; do not incline TO YOUR SECOND
THOUGHT.) Hold fast to what we confess
and don’t be swayed by the world. Do
not waver flipping in and out in your mind.
Did you know that
most principles that are taught in the world, and that are beneficial,
originate from the Word of God? I am sure you have heard about this
principle in educational circles.
Do you remember back
in high school when your instructor was trying to help you improve your test
scores? You may have been going back
and forth trying to choose one of two possible answers to a question. Your teacher would stand by your side and
say to you “Choose the answer that you first thought was correct!” In other words, go with your first
thought. This principle of ‘first
thought’ must have been examined in academic circles and the conclusion was
drawn that your first thought during an exam is most likely the correct
answer. There are many other principles
and sayings used in the world today that are biblical in origin. If you are interested even more in this
subject, you should refer to the teaching Modern Sayings and their Biblical Sources.
I sometimes find that a shorter teaching will keep the attention of my reader. We have gone over enough of the Word where you should be convinced that we should discipline our mind to make all of our decisions as a result of our first thought. It sure is a challenge to renew your mind and discipline your mind to do this. And yet the principle it is so simple. Remember, the renewed mind is your key to power so I can see no other group of Scriptures more applicable to close this teaching than the following:
Romans 12: 1, 2 -- I Beseech you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service. And be not conformed to this
world: but be ye transformed by the
renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and
acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Transform your decision-making by going with your
FIRST THOUGHT, every time.
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