As a Christian, what you are facing that looks negative,
that seems negative will be used by God
to release you into your Divine destiny.
Where then is there room for negative thoughts?
Greetings in Jesus’ name. Hi everyone.
Welcome to another edition of ‘Take Care Of Your Heart’
here on God’s Heart TV –
a time for us to dig deep into the Living Word of God.
And I pray that God would bless you richly
as you join me to watch a short excerpt from a sermon
I was privileged to share at The Synagogue, Church Of All Nations
simply titled – ‘How To Overcome Negative Thoughts’.
Be blessed as you watch in Jesus’ name.
Negative thoughts will come – don’t entertain them.
Now, how can I try and illustrate this for the benefit of people.
Can I have one volunteer?
Any volunteer – if the Lord puts it in your heart.
Ok. Thank you very much, sir.
Now, I want to demonstrate to you the danger of negative thoughts.
They will come but what do you do when they come?
My brother, what is this?
It’s a fruit.
This is a coconut.
I am going to give it to you.
Now, I want to see a genuine reaction.
If I told you that what you are holding in your hands
is a bomb, what would you do?
Thank you. Let’s put our hands together for him.
Now, why did you take that action?
I got scared.
He got scared.
If you held onto that bomb,
what do you think would have happened to you?
It would have exploded in my hands and I would die.
Yes – it’s dangerous. It’s deadly.
The moment the awareness came that this –
even though it looks like a coconut,
it looks like a fruit – but this is a bomb.
The moment the awareness came, you got rid of it!
Harbouring negative thoughts is like holding a bomb.
Don’t wait for it to explode before you get rid of it.
They will come. They must come.
That’s the world we are living in.
The Bible says, “In this world, there will be trouble.
In this world, there will be hurt.
In this world, there will be pain.
It’s part of life.
They will come – negative thoughts –
but don’t harbour them.
Don’t allow them to stay in your heart.
Now, let me pick up this bomb.
Let me show you what many of us do.
This is what many of us do.
I just want you to examine yourself.
Sir, I hope this can fit in your pocket.
Put this in your pocket.
What is in his pocket?
It’s a coconut.
To him – yes, that’s correct. He thinks it’s a coconut.
Many of us – what we do is keep poison in our pocket
and then when trouble comes,
we look for imaginary enemies to blame.
Are you with me?
You are the one that allowed the negative thought.
You kept it. You concealed it.
You kept it with you.
When trouble comes, you begin to look for scapegoats.
When trouble comes you begin to point fingers.
When trouble comes, you begin to say,
‘My family is this; my family is that’
But you are the one that has kept poison in your pocket.
By harbouring, holding, keeping, entertaining, allowing
these negative thoughts to remain in your heart.
Why do we do this?
Because many of us no longer recognise evil as evil.
We don’t see the world through God’s eyes.
It looks just like an ordinary fruit to us.
We say, ‘There’s no harm in this.’
Negative thoughts come – you say, ‘There’s nothing wrong’.
You begin to brood on them.
You begin to keep them.
You begin to entertain them.
In your privacy, you begin to think about them – plot and plan.
What you are doing is destroying yourself.
The problem is not around you – the problem is in your pocket.
My brother, you can keep the coconut, okay!
Have your seat. Keep it!
Right now, I want to tell you people of God – enough is enough!
Tell your neighbour, “Enough is enough!”
In fact, I want you to rise up right now.
We are going to make a declaration together.
Rise up to your feet.
Viewers, rise up! Wherever you are watching, rise up.
We want to make a declaration right now because
enough is enough to entertaining evil in our hearts.
Right now, say after me – ‘You devil!’
I want you to say it with passion – say, ‘You devil!
I refuse to submit to your deception!
I refuse to listen to your lies!
I refuse to surrender to negative thoughts!
They will come but they will not stay
Because there is no space in my heart for evil.
There is no room in my apartment for evil.
There is no chance in my life for evil
because sin’s power over me is broken!
You listen to the anointed song –
sin’s power over you is broken!
You don’t have to allow negative thoughts to control you.
You don’t have to allow negative thoughts to take hold of you.
They will come; as they come – get rid of them!
As they come, reject them!
As they come, rebuke them!
I will not be overcome by evil. I will overcome evil with good.
You may have your seats, people of God.
I want you to make that your confession.
A negative thought in itself is not deadly.
It becomes deadly when we harbour, hold and keep it.
Why? Because when you harbour these negative thoughts,
you will hardly know that you are trapped.
That is the worst kind of imprisonment –
when you are imprisoned without knowing you are trapped.
This is what satan wants to achieve –
he wants to see you believe you are free
whereas you are imprisoned, trapped.
And you are the one that has locked your own chains
by allowing, permitting, entertaining, giving audience
to the lies and deception of the devil.
So often today – because we don’t look at the world
through God’s eyes, our hearts have become so distracted,
disconnected from the Word of God,
we no longer recognise evil as evil.
We no longer see what is sinful as what is sinful.
We harbour and allow these things.
Because of this, we are blind to reality.
Let me tell you some reality.
When I say ‘reality’ – I mean, truth.
There is no reality outside of Christ.
When many of us are hurt,
we behave as if we are the only ones who have ever been cheated.
We behave as if we are the only ones who have ever been wronged.
We behave as if we are the only ones who have ever been lied against.
That’s the way we react.
Someone just wrongs you.
Immediately, satan will introduce those negative thoughts –
‘How can this guy say this about you?
How can God allow this to happen to you?’
You begin to agree with him – ‘Yes, it’s true.
Why me of all this? Why am I facing this?’
Listen, people of God – do you know the reality?
Everyone has been hurt. Everyone!
As far as we are living in this world, it will happen
but we forget the reality because we are blinded from the truth.
That’s why we begin to react –
‘How can this happen to me? What is going on?’
Harbouring negative thoughts.
Allowing, entertaining negative thoughts.
And all of this is diverting our destiny.
Because we behave as if it’s the only one it has ever happened to.
It happens to everyone.
If you are cheated, as a Christian –
leave it for God. He will vindicate you.
If you are wronged, as a Christian –
leave it for God. He will defend you.
If you are lied against, as a Christian –
leave it for God. He is your Judge.
But today – one lie against us and we hold offence,
We can look at God in a bad light.
We begin to harbour negativity.
Before you know it, it gives birth to negative words.
Before you know it, it gives birth to negative actions.
Before you know it, you have gone astray from
your walk with the Lord.
Whereas it happens to everyone.
Listen – there is no one in this world without a situation.
Everyone has a situation.
That’s life; this is the reality.
You’ve come here today for prayer for a particular trouble.
By time God touches that trouble and removes it,
don’t worry – another trouble will come your way.
That’s life.
If we didn’t have these troubles,
perhaps we wouldn’t have the zeal for God.
These things remind us, create a sense of dependence on God.
But today, we behave as if we are the only ones in trouble.
We react as if no one else has passed through
what we are passing through.
We respond as if we are the only one –
as if God is dealing with us unjustly,
God is dealing with us unfairly.
‘Why is this happing to me? What is going on?’
This causes us to entertain and harbour negative thoughts in our hearts.
So, as I round up, I want to tell you this simple truth –
if you are a Christian, the situation you are in that seems negative
will have a positive result.
Where then is there room for negative thoughts?
Your situation is not like others.
If you are a Christian and you are facing setback,
your setback is a setup for breakthrough.
If you are a Christian and you are facing failure,
your failure is to prepare you for success.
If you are a Christian and you are in your dark moment,
your troubling moment, your dark moment will make you to
value, see and appreciate the light by the time it finally comes.
Perhaps you are sick today.
By the time healing comes,
God will have helped you to manage your good health.
You will know the value and appreciate your good health.
What am I saying, brethren?
Just as Joseph said to his brothers in Genesis 50:20 –
‘You intended this for evil but God allowed it for good,
so that His purpose will be accomplished’.
What you are facing today that seems negative
will be used by God to accomplish His purpose in your life.
What you are facing today that looks negative –
is it barrenness?
Is it trouble in your work-place?
Is it marital issues?
Are you facing sickness that doesn’t seem to respond to doctor’s treatments?
Are you facing this? Are you facing that?
As a Christian, what you are facing that looks negative,
that seems negative will be used by God
to release you into your Divine destiny.
Where then is there room for negative thoughts –
in what will end in a positive outcome?
Romans 8:28 says ‘All things work together
for the good of those who love God’.
It doesn’t say some things.
It doesn’t say success; it doesn’t say breakthrough.
It says ‘All things work together’.
So, what is the way out now?
When negative thoughts strike, run to God.
What satan intends to take you away from Him
will actually end up moving you closer to Him
and you overcome.
When negative thoughts come, don’t entertain them.
The moment you recognise –
‘This is evil; this is wrong; this is negative’ –
run to God, seek God.
As Romans 12:21 says –
“Do not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good”
James 1:17 says “Every good and perfect thing comes from above”
When negative thoughts strike,
let your heart rise and seek the things that are above
because sin’s power over you is broken.
Hallelujah! Sin’s power over us is broken!
Thank You, Jesus!
Thank You, Jesus, for the price that You paid on the Cross of Calvary.
Thank You, Jesus, for Your precious Living Word.
Thank You, Jesus, for Your beautiful works of nature.
I mean, look at that sunset, viewers.
Glory be to God!
And as Matthew 24:35 says, ‘Heaven and earth may pass away
but the Word of God will never pass away.’
That is why we must embrace the wonderful Word of God
as the most effective instrument for change.
As the Word of God dominates your heart,
as it becomes part of you,
as it gets into your blood,
you will discuss the One who is fighting for you instead of your battle.
You will focus on your Comforter instead of your enemy.
Thank You, Jesus, once again for Your Living Word.
And thank you for joining me today, viewers.
You can actually watch the full message –
‘How To Overcome Negative Thoughts’
on my other channel ‘Official Brother Chris’.
We will put a link in the description below.
And remember always –
when negative thoughts strike your heart, quickly run to God.
And of course – seek God’s heart to see life clearly.
God bless you, viewers.