Winning Mindset

I. Introduction.

A. Numbers 13:31-33
“But the other men who had explored the land with him (Caleb) answered, ‘We can't go up against them! They are stronger than we are!’So they spread discouraging reports about the land among the Israelites: ‘The land we explored will swallow up any who go to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. We felt like grasshoppers next to them . . . ’ ”

(NLT)

B.
Where are you in your thinking right now? What is your
predominant mental state concerning your health, finances, family, etc.

Is your thinking aligned with God? Or with the world?

Are you thinking like a grasshopper? Or a giant? Or somewhere in between?

C. The results you are getting are driven by your thoughts.

Proverbs 23:7 “For as he thinks in his heart, so is he . . . ” (NKJV)

D. Consider this: the first thing Eve “ate” was not fruit. It was a thought.

Genesis 3:1-4
“Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die . . . ” (KJV)

II. You can’t enter the promised land with an Egyptian mindset.

A. Most of the Israelites kept returning to Egypt in their mind.

1. Instead of being grateful for manna, they complained about it.

Numbers 11:5-6
“One day some worthless foreigners among the Israelites became greedy for food, and even the Israelites themselves began moaning, ‘We don't have any meat! In Egypt we could eat all the fish we wanted, and there were cucumbers, melons, onions, and garlic. But we're starving out here, and the only food we have is this manna.’ ” (CEV)



2. They took a different view of the promised land.


Numbers 13:27-28
“They told Moses, ‘We went to the land where you sent us, and it is a fertile land! Here is some of its fruit. But the people who live there are strong. Their cities are walled and very large . . .’ ” (NCV)

3. They contradicted God’s Word and brought up a negative report.

Numbers 13:31-32
“But the men who had gone up with him responded, ‘We can't go up against the people because they are stronger than we are!’ So they gave a negative report to the Israelites about the land they had scouted: ‘The land we passed through to explore is one that devours its inhabitants . . . ’ ”(Holman)

4. They longed to return to Egypt.

Numbers 14:3-4 “We would be better off going back to Egypt.’ They said to each other, ‘Let's choose a leader and go back to Egypt.’ ” (NCV)



5[b]. In the end they refused to believe God and rejected Him.

Numbers 14:11[/b]
“Then the LORD said to Moses: ‘How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them?’ ” (NKJV)


6. And for this they paid the ultimate price.

Numbers 14:2, 28-29
“And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, ‘If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness!’ . . .‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: the carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness . . .’ ”(NKJV)

B. Caleb brought back a different report.

1.
He focused on the promise, not the problem.

2. He remembered what God had done at the Red Sea.

3. He believed God, which gave him the courage to obey God.

Numbers 13:30
“And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.” (KJV)


4. Then he could see what God saw.


3
Numbers 14:9
“Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.” (KJV)


5. As a result, he inherited the promised land.


Numbers 14:24

“But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.” (NKJV)



III. Shifting to a Winning Mindset.

A. God has given us dominion.

Genesis 1:26
“And God said, Let us make man in our image after our likeness: and let them have dominion . . . ” (KJV)

B. He said we would prosper and be in health to the degree that our soul prospers.

3 John 2
“Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers.” (NKJV)


C. The process to obtain a soul which “prospers” is simple – but not easy.

Step 1: Think like God thinks.

a. Out with the “bad” thoughts if you want to enter the promised land.

1.) Matthew 4:17
“From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent = to think differently, to reconsider) for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (KJV)



2.) 2 Corinthians 10:4-5
“(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” (KJV)


3.)
Stop meditating on your present circumstances, current results or anything else that contradicts the Word of God in your life. Stop it!


4
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b. In with the “good” thoughts.


1.) Joshua 1:8
“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” (KJV)

2.) Philippians 4:8
“Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable and right. Think about things that are pure and lovely and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” (NLT)



Step 2: Talk like God talks.


a. Romans 4:17
“God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did.” (NKJV)

b. Joel 3:10
“ . . . let the weak say,I am strong.” (KJV)

c. Matthew 8:8

“ . . . speak the word only . . .” (KJV)


Step 3: See like God sees.


a. Each of us is being changed into whatever image we are holding in mind.

2 Corinthians 3:18
“But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” (KJV)

b. Hold in mind what you want to happen, instead of what you don’t want to happen.

1.) Stop scaring yourself with your own thoughts.

2.) “Most people are focused on what they don’t want, while trying desperately to make what they want happen.” (Bob Proctor)

3.) Use your imagination for your benefit, not your detriment!