Right
Thinking
As a man
‘thinketh in his
heart, so is he.’
Proverbs 23:7
Right
Thinking
Right
Thinking
Not just informed
or conformed but
be transformed.
“Do not be conformed to this
world, but be transformed by
the renewing of your mind,
that you may prove what is
that good and acceptable and
perfect will of God”
(Romans 12:2 NKJV).
“The only security for
any soul is right thinking.
As a man ‘thinketh in his
heart, so is he.’
Proverbs 23:7.”
(Ministry of Healing, page 491).
1. The Law of Cognition:
The way you think is the single
most determinative thing about
you.
2. The Law of Exposure:
Your mind will think about what it is
most exposed to. What repeatedly
enters your mind, shapes your
character.
There is an old story that says you are
commanded to wear a coat with two
pockets to receive messages for your
life. You have to decide which message
is the truth.
The note in the first pocket says:
“You are nothing but millions of tiny
grains of dirt. You are the product of
random chance. Your life is
meaningless.”
The note in the second pocket says:
“You are on a mission from God. You
are the light of the world. You are the
salt of the earth.”
Which message will you hold on to and
which one will you throw away?
Your mind will think about what it is
most exposed to. What repeatedly
enters your mind, shapes your
character.
How do we get
right thinking?
How do we get right thinking?
1. Focus on Jesus.
2. Adopt an attitude of gratitude,
praise, and joy.
3. Let your imagination take hold
of the unseen.
4. Fall up.
5. Live to give.
6. Reduce your options.
7. Press together.
1. Focus on Jesus.
• Psalm 101:3
“I will set nothing wicked before
my eyes!”
• Why does David make this rule
for his life?
• Because by beholding
we become changed.
• “looking unto Jesus”
(Hebrews 12:2).
• 2 Corinthians 3:18
• By beholding we
become changed.
Right Thinking
Philippians 4:8 –
“Finally, brethren, whatever things are
true, whatever things are noble,
whatever things are just, whatever
things are pure, whatever things are
lovely, whatever things are of good
report, if there is any virtue and if there
is anything praiseworthy – meditate on
these things.”
“It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful
hour each day in contemplation of the life of
Christ. We should take it point by point, and
let the imagination grasp each scene,
especially the closing ones. As we thus
dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our
confidence in Him will be more constant,
our love will be quickened, and we shall be
more deeply imbued with His spirit.”
(Desire of Ages, page 83).
2. Adopt an attitude of gratitude,
praise, and joy.
“Nothing tends more to
promote health of body
and of soul than does a
spirit of gratitude and
praise”
(Ministry of Healing,
page 251).
“Cultivate
thankfulness”
(Ministry of Healing, page 492).
“Nothing tends more to promote
health of body and of soul than
does a spirit of gratitude and
praise. It is a positive duty to
resist melancholy, discontented
thoughts and feelings--as much a
duty as it is to pray”
(Ministry of Healing,
page 251).
2 Corinthians 10:4-5
“Dwell upon the good qualities of
those with whom you associate,
and see as little as possible of
their errors and failings. When
tempted to complain of what
someone has said or done,
praise something in that person's
life or character”
(Ministry of Healing,
page 492).
“If we keep uppermost in our
minds the unkind and unjust acts
of others we shall find it
impossible to love them as Christ
has loved us; but if our thoughts
dwell upon the wondrous love
and pity of Christ for us, the
same spirit will flow out to others”
(Steps to Christ, page 121).
“We need not keep our own
record of trials and difficulties,
griefs, and sorrows... While we
are counting up the disagreeable
things, many things that are
pleasant to reflect upon are
passing from memory”
(Ministry of Healing,
page 487).
“Make it a rule never to
utter one word of doubt
or discouragement”
(Steps to Christ, pages 119-120).
3. Let your imagination
take hold of the unseen.
“Instead of thinking of your
discouragements, think of
the power you can claim in
Christ's name. Let your
imagination take hold upon
things unseen”
(Ministry of Healing, page 488).
Right
Thinking
Supernatural Warfare
(Numbers 13-14)
“Seeing therefore it remaineth
that some must enter therein,
and they to whom it was first
preached entered not in
because of unbelief”
(Hebrews 4:6 KJV).
What is the opposite of
“unbelief”?
FAITH
“Now
faith is the
substance of things
hoped for, the
evidence of
things not seen”
(Hebrews 11:1 KJV).
“Without faith it is impossible
to please Him: for he that
cometh to God must believe
that He is, and that He is a
rewarder of them that
diligently seek Him”
(Hebrews 11:6 KJV).
DEFINITION:
“Seeing the unseen.”
WHAT IS THE WORD:
FAITH
WHAT OTHER WORD
COULD THIS BE A
DEFINITION OF?
IMAGINATION
DEFINITION:
IMAGINATION
1. mental creative ability
2. the faculty or action of
producing ideas, especially mental
images of what is not present or
has not been experienced
3. Daydreaming and fantasy of
one when awake, building castles
in the air, illusions, unrealities
Godly imagination takes the
Word of God and treats it as
reality.
Psalm 34:7 says, “The angel
of the LORD encampeth
round about them that fear
Him, and delivereth them.”
When the Centurion in Luke 7:7-8 said,
“…say the word and my servant will be
healed. For I also am a man placed
under authority, having soldiers under
me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he
goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he
comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’
and he does it.”
he had great faith and a great
imagination.
“Faith looks beyond the
difficulties and lays hold of the
unseen, even Omnipotence.
Therefore, it can not be
baffled”
(The Faith I Live By).
(Faith does not have to
depend on sight.)
2 Corinthians 5:7:
“For we walk by faith,
not by sight.”
“Instead of thinking of your
discouragements, think of the
power you can claim in
Christ’s name. Let your
imagination take hold of things
unseen”
(Gospel Workers, page 478).
Children have vivid imaginations.
Jesus wants us to have the faith
of a little child.
“Verily I say unto you,
Whosoever shall not receive the
kingdom of God as a little child
shall in no wise enter therein”
(Luke 18:17).
Ungodly imagination
visualizes things that are not
true nor Biblical nor godly nor
pure. It is an unsanctified
imagination, an uncontrolled
and lustful imagination, or a
depressed and dark
imagination.
“He who looks to Christ in simple
childlike faith is made a partaker of
the divine nature through the
agency of the Holy Spirit”
(The Faith I Live By, page 55).
(Children have a powerful
imagination!)
“Through the imagination He
(Christ) reached the heart”
(Desire of Ages, page 254).
“The first work of those who would
reform is to purify the imagination”
(Mind, Character and Personality, Volume 2,
page 595).
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect
peace, whose
mind(imagination) is stayed on
Thee”
(Isaiah 26:3 KJV).
“Let this mind be in you,
which was also in
Christ Jesus”
(Philippians 2:5 KJV).
The reason why the world was
destroyed by water:
“And God saw that the wickedness
of man was great in the earth, and
that every imagination of the
thoughts of his heart was only evil
continually”
(Genesis 6:5 KJV).
He who has the imagination,
has the man.
“It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful
hour each day in contemplation of the life of
Christ. We should take it point by point, and
let the imagination grasp each scene,
especially the closing ones. As we thus
dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our
confidence in Him will be more constant,
our love will be quickened, and we shall be
more deeply imbued with His spirit.”
(Desire of Ages, page 83).
“Disease is sometimes produced, and
is often greatly aggravated, by the
imagination. Many are lifelong invalids
who might be well if they only thought
so. Many imagine that every slight
exposure will cause illness, and the evil
effect is produced because it is
expected. Many die from disease the
cause of which is wholly imaginary”
(Ministry of Healing, page 241).
“Sickness
of the mind prevails
everywhere. Nine tenths of the
diseases from which men suffer
have their foundation here”
(Mind, Character and Personality vol. 1, p59).
“One sister was carried by her husband
from chair to bed, and from room to
room, because she thought that she
was too feeble to walk. But as the case
was afterward presented to me, she
could have walked as well as myself if
she had thought so.”
(Testimonies vol. 2, p523.1).
“Had an accident occurred,--had the house
taken fire, or one of her children been in
imminent danger of losing life by a fall,--this
woman would have been aroused by the force
of circumstances, and would have walked
quite readily and briskly. She could walk, so
far as physical strength was concerned; but
diseased imagination led her to conclude that
she could not, and she did not arouse the
power of the will to resist this deception.”
(Testimonies vol. 2, p523.1).
“The imagination said: You cannot walk, and you
had better not try. Sit still; your limbs are so weak
that you cannot stand. Had this sister exerted her
will power and aroused her benumbed and
dormant energies, this deception would have
been exposed. In consequence of yielding to the
imagination, she probably thinks, to this day, that
when she was so helpless she was so of
necessity; but this was purely a freak of the
imagination, which sometimes plays strange
tricks upon diseased mortals”
(Testimonies vol. 2, p523.1).
“Once I was called to see a young woman with
whom I was well acquainted. She was sick
and was running down fast. Her mother
wished me to pray for her. The mother stood
there weeping and saying, "Poor child; she
cannot live long." I felt her pulse. I prayed with
her, and then addressed her, "My sister, if you
get up and dress and go to your usual work in
the office, all this invalidism will pass away."
"Do you think this would pass away?" she
said.
(Mind, Character and Personality vol. 2, p682).
"Certainly," I said. "You have nearly
smothered the life forces by invalidism."
I turned to the mother and told her that
her daughter would have died of a diseased
imagination if they had not been convinced
of their error. She had been educating
herself to invalidism. Now this is a very poor
school. But I said to her, "Change this order;
arise and dress." She was obedient, and is
alive today.
(Mind, Character and Personality vol. 2, p682).
“The key to controlling your
thoughts is realizing that you
are the cinema manager. If a
mental movie creates
problems, you can switch to
another film.”
- Dr. Neil Nedley (The Lost Art
of Thinking)
Proverbs 24:16– “For a just
man falleth seven times, and
riseth up again: but the
wicked shall fall into
mischief.”
Falling Up
Imagine you walk into
a bank. There are 50
other people there.
A robber walks in and
fires his weapon once
and you are shot in the
right arm.
The next day you are released from the
hospital and you return to work.
Now if you were honestly describing
this event to your friends the next day,
would you describe it as:
fortunate or unfortunate?
Reasons why it was Unfortunate:
“I could have walked into any bank,
at any time. This kind of thing almost
never happens. How unlucky is it
that I happened to be there? And
that I was shot?!”
“There’s a bullet in my arm; that’s
objectively unfortunate.”
More Reasons why it was Unfortunate:
“I entered the bank perfectly
healthy and I left in an
ambulance. I don’t know about
you, but that’s not my idea of a
good time.”
“This is fundamentally
inconvenient.”
One More Reason why it was
Unfortunate:
“There were at least fifty other
people in the bank. Surely
someone deserved getting shot
more than I did.”
Reasons why it was Fortunate:
“I could have been shot somewhere
far worse than my arm. I could have
died. I feel incredibly fortunate.”
“It’s amazing that nobody else got
hurt. There were a least 50 other
people in the bank, including
children. It’s unbelievably lucky that
everybody lived to tell the tale.”
“Man can shape
circumstances, but
circumstances should
not be allowed to
shape the man”
(Ministry of Healing, page 500).
When soldiers are heading for
combat, psychologists
commonly tell them they will
return either “normal” or with
Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder.
There are only two
paths: “normal” or
“psychic distress?”
There is a third
path:
Post-Traumatic
Growth or
Falling Up
What possible good
could come out of a
bad situation?
What if I end up in
the hospital?
What if I find out
that you have
cancer?
What kind of positive growth
have patient’s experienced
when they were diagnosed
with cancer?
1. Increased
spirituality
2. Compassion for
others
3. Openness
4. Heightened
appreciation for,
and greater
intimacy in, their
social relationships
5. Enhanced selfconfidence.
Why do some people fall up, while so
many others fall down:
1. People who fall up see their suffering
as an opportunity to learn, grow and
develop.
2. People who fall up have moral
courage and refuse to betray their
values.
3. People who fall up have a strong
sense of self-control see their suffering
as local and temporary as opposed to
universal and permanent.
James 1:2 – “My
brethren, count it
all joy when you
fall into various
trials.”
John 16:33 – “In the world
you will have tribulation;
but be of good cheer, I
have overcome the world.”
“Trials and obstacles
are the Lord's chosen
methods of discipline
and His appointed
conditions of
success.”
– Help in Daily Living, pg. 9
“Men of power are those who have
been opposed, baffled, and
thwarted. By calling their energies
into action, the obstacles they
meet prove to them positive
blessings. They gain self-reliance.
Conflict and perplexity call for the
exercise of trust in God and for
that firmness which develops
power.”
– Help in Daily Living, pg. 45
Romans 8:28
“The Father's presence encircled
Christ, and nothing befell
Him but that which infinite love
permitted for the blessing of the
world. Here was His source of
comfort, and it is for us. He who is
imbued with the Spirit of Christ
abides in Christ. Whatever comes to
him comes from the Saviour, who
surrounds him with His presence.”
– Help in Daily Living, pp. 30-31
“Nothing can touch him except by
the Lord's permission. All our
sufferings and sorrows, all our
temptations and trials, all our
sadness and griefs, all our
persecutions and privations, in short,
all things work together for our good.
All experiences and circumstances
are God's workmen whereby good is
brought to us.”
– Help in Daily Living, pp. 30-31
“I’ve failed over
and over again in
my life, and that
is why I
succeed.”
- Michael Jordan
“I have failed
my way to
success.”
- Thomas
Edison
“Only those who
dare to fail
greatly can ever
achieve
greatly.”
- Robert Kennedy
“Many who are
qualified to do
excellent work
accomplish little
because they
attempt little.”
– Help in Daily Living, pg. 43
“One reason for this is the
low estimate which they
place upon themselves.
Christ paid an infinite price
for us, and according to
the price paid He desires
us to value ourselves.”
– Help in Daily Living, pg. 43
“Many become inefficient by
evading responsibilities for
fear of failure. Thus they fail of
gaining that education which
results from experience, and
which reading and study and
all the advantages otherwise
gained cannot give them.”
– Help in Daily Living, pp. 30-31
Two
shoe salesmen
went to
“Situation
“Glorious
opportunity!
hopeless.
Africa
in the wear
early 1900s
They don’t
have
shoes.”
any to
assess
shoes opportunities.
yet.”
“Great as is the shame and
degradation through sin, even
greater will be the honor and
exaltation through redeeming love.
To human beings striving for
conformity to the divine image there
is imparted an outlay of heaven's
treasure, an excellency of power, that
will place them higher than even the
angels who have never fallen.”
– Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 163
5. Live to
give.
“From His earliest years
He (Jesus) was
possessed of one
purpose;
He lived to bless others.”
- Desire of Ages, page 70
“The strongest argument in
favor of the gospel is a loving
and lovable Christian.
To live such a life, to exert such
an influence, costs at every
step effort, self-sacrifice,
discipline”
(Ministry of Healing, pages 470).
John 15:11
Hebrews 12:1, 2
“Doing
a kindness produces
the single most reliable
momentary increase in well
being of any exercise we
have tested”
(Martin Seligman, the father of
Positive Psychology wrote in
his book Flourish).
“If anyone desires to come after
Me, let him deny himself, and
take up his cross, and follow me”
(Matthew 16:24).
“Happiness that is sought from
selfish motives, outside of the
path of duty, is ill-balanced, fitful,
and transitory; it passes away,
and the soul is filled with
loneliness and sorrow; but there
is joy and satisfaction in the
service of God”
(Steps to Christ, page 125).
“Those who think of the result of
hastening or hindering the gospel
think of it in relation to themselves
and to the world. Few think of its
relation to God. Few give thought to
the suffering that sin has caused
our Creator” (Education, page 263).
“All heaven suffered in
Christ's agony; but that
suffering did not begin or end
with His manifestation in
humanity. The cross is a
revelation to our dull senses
of the pain that, from its very
inception, sin has brought to
the heart of God. Every
departure from the right,
every deed of cruelty, every
failure of humanity to reach
His ideal, brings grief to Him”
(Education, page 263).
“Of all the gifts that heaven can bestow upon
men, fellowship with Christ in His sufferings is
the most weighty trust and the highest honor.
Not Enoch, who was translated to heaven, not
Elijah, who ascended in a chariot of fire, was
greater or more honored than John the Baptist,
who perished alone in the dungeon. ‘Unto you it
is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to
believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake.’
Philippians 1:29”
(Ministry of Healing, pages 476-477).
“’Seekest thou great things for thyself?
Seek them not’ (Jeremiah 45:5). The
Lord has no place in His work for those
who have a greater desire to win the
crown than to bear the cross. He wants
men who are more intent upon doing
their duty than upon receiving their
reward--men who are more solicitous
for principle than for promotion”
(Ministry of Healing, pages 476-477).
“…you are the temple of
God…”
- 1 Corinthians 3:16
Purity of
behaviour
Purity of Character
Purity of Thoughts
(Right Thinking)
7. Press together.
“By mutual contact our minds
should receive polish and
refinement. We are dependent
upon one another, closely
bound together by the ties of
human brotherhood”
(Ministry of Healing, page 496).
“We want to press together. O, how many
times, when I have seemed to be in the
presence of God and holy angels, I have
heard the angel voice saying, ‘Press
together, press together, press together.
Do not let Satan cast his hellish shadow
between brethren. Press together; in unity
there is strength’
I repeat the message to you”
{GCDB, April 13, 1891 par. 34}
“It is the will of God that union and brotherly love should exist
among His people. The prayer of Christ just before His
crucifixion was that His disciples might be one as He is one with
the Father, that the world might believe that God had sent Him.
This most touching and wonderful prayer reaches down the
ages, even to our day; for His words were, "Neither pray I for
these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through
their word." John 17:20. While we are not to sacrifice one
principle of truth, it should be our constant aim to reach this state
of unity. This is the evidence of our discipleship. Said Jesus, "By
this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love
one to another." John 13:35. The apostle Peter exhorts the
church, "Be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of
another; love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous: not rendering
evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing;
knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a
blessing." 1 Peter 3:8, 9. {PP 520.3} ”
"Behold, how good and how
pleasant it is for brethren to
dwell together in unity!"
(Psalms 133:1)