NEGATIVE THINKING: DANGERS & DELIVERANCE!--By Peter
Peter #63
4/88
--A Talk Given During a Visit to a Large Combo Home
1. Whenever I talk to someone about negative thinking, I share with them a couple of quotes that pinpoint the problem & the solution. They're from Dad's Letter, "Letter to a Labourer" (ML#325), paragraphs 6 & 7, which say, "Remember that not all voices are of God, & you must try the spirits to make sure that what you are hearing is of the Lord."
2. IN OTHER WORDS, ALL THE DIFFERENT VOICES & THOUGHTS & IDEAS & THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO PASS THROUGH YOUR MIND are NOT necessarily all from the Lord, right? Don't you ever have little thoughts pop into your head out of nowhere? Sometimes they're a check in the Spirit, like when your spirit helper gets through to you about something. For instance, you get a check that instead of going one direction, you should change & go a different direction, & as a result, you bump into somebody that you need to talk to, someone you would have never bumped into had you not followed that check.--Or maybe you find a particular thing that you've been searching for for weeks. All kinds of exciting things happen when you follow the LORD'S checks!
3. LET'S GO BACK TO THE QUOTE: "REMEMBER THAT NOT ALL VOICES ARE OF GOD, & YOU MUST TRY THE SPIRITS to make sure that what you are hearing is of the LORD." So how are you going to know if the things you're hearing are of the Lord or not? Dad then shows us the way to find out if they're NOT of the Lord. These are very important points: Number one, "If it's NOT according to His WORD." If the thought is NOT according to the WORD, it's NOT the LORD! Number two, "If it causes you to be DISCONTENT or UNHAPPY or it causes you to be BITTER, or it causes you to be DISSATISFIED, or CRITICAL of others." If any of the thoughts or ideas that happen to come into your head cause you to be "discontent or unhappy or critical of others"--including critical of YOURSELF--"these things are NOT of the Lord!"
4. Maybe it will encourage you to know that all of us have things about ourselves that we don't like: "Oh, I'm too fat," or "I'm too skinny." "My hair is not long enough," or it's "too curly or too straight or too thin." "Oh, I'm getting old." Or, if you're a Teen, "Oh, I don't look old enough!"--Ha!--And on & on it goes! Well, those are negative thoughts. If it causes you to be unhappy, if it causes you to be discontent, if it causes you to be critical of yourself or others, then that shows it's not of the Lord!
5. THERE ARE ALL KINDS OF THINGS ABOUT YOURSELF THAT THE DEVIL TRIES TO GET YOU DISCOURAGED ABOUT, & when he attacks or tempts you with these kinds of things, that's NEGATIVENESS & NEGATIVE THINKING.--It's thinking NEGATIVELY about YOURSELF. It's a battle for all of us. In "Pill or Pilgrimage" (ML#599) it even happened to Mama! She was getting down about the size of her tummy, & Dad corrected her & told her to quit complaining & murmuring about it. You can also think negative, critical thoughts about OTHERS: "Look at so-&-so, he's too fat," or "She's too skinny," or "She didn't give me a hug, she must not love me."--All of these sort of doubts & murmurs & complaints are negative thinking!
6. So what do we do about this problem? First of all, we have to recognise what negative thoughts are. In those quotes Dad clearly explains that negative thoughts are thoughts that are not according to God's Word, & thoughts that cause you to be discontent or bitter or dissatisfied or unhappy or critical of others, as well as yourself. What about thoughts that get you discouraged, are they of the Lord?--No! Why? Because discouragement causes you to be discontent & unhappy. Thoughts that make you jealous, are they of the Lord?--No! Any thoughts that make you unthankful or unhappy or bitter or that cause you to murmur, they're just not of the Lord, they're the Devil's negative thoughts!
7. THE QUOTE NOT ONLY TELLS US, "THESE THINGS ARE NOT OF THE LORD," BUT IT ALSO TELLS YOU WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT. "You must REBUKE the Enemy in Jesus' name when he tempts you with such negative thoughts!" Now, that doesn't mean you should finally get around to rebuking the Enemy after you've been listening to his negative thoughts all day or all week! It says, "You must rebuke the Enemy in Jesus' name WHEN HE TEMPTS YOU with these negative thoughts." When do you rebuke the Enemy? At the BEGINNING, when it's still only a TEMPTATION, when he's there knocking at your door trying to gain entrance. THAT'S when you have to rebuke the Enemy! "Neither give PLACE to the Devil."--Eph.4:27. Give NO place to him!
8. YOU MUST REBUKE THE DEVIL & HIS NEGATIVE THOUGHTS WHEN YOU'RE FIRST TEMPTED WITH THEM! And if you do, if you fight back as soon as it STARTS, then, like James 4:7 says, when you "RESIST the Devil, he will FLEE from you"! But if you LISTEN to his lies, if you DWELL on them at all, you'll start to go downhill right then! The Devil knows that once he gets his foot in the door, once he's got his little wedge in, it's like the camel's nose, & pretty soon he can get ALL the way in!
THE DANGER OF "LITTLE" NEGATIVE THOUGHTS!
9. You might think there's nothing wrong with thinking just a little negatively about some things. But if you toy around with it for very long, those negative thoughts will soon grow & get a grip on you. They may start off real insignificantly, like a little tiny thin thread, but pretty soon, it becomes a bigger thread, a string, then a bigger string or cord, & then it's like a rope, & then it develops into a steel cable, & pretty soon it's wrapped all around you & you can't get rid of it!
10. Did you know how they used to build big steel bridges? First they flew a kite from one side of the river over to the other. The man on the other side of the river caught the kite, & all they had to start with was that thin little thread-like kite string over the river. But then they tied a thicker, stronger string to the end of the first little thin string, & the men on the other side of the river pulled the new heavier string across. They then tied an even thicker & stronger cord on, & pulled it over, until pretty soon they were able to tie on a thin rope, & then a thick rope, & then pretty soon it was a small steel cable. Then next thing, they were pulling over a big thick cable that could support all kinds of heavy materials, & then they were able to start building. They wound up building an entire bridge just from one tiny little kite string!
11. That's a good illustration to show how bad habits of negative thinking are formed. At first it's usually just a little thought, "Oh, I'm sure my Shepherds must be talking about me," or "She doesn't really like me, even though she pretends to," or "He's really a dummy." Then because you don't fight these thoughts, pretty soon they start getting a little foothold in your mind. You may not even notice that it's beginning to happen, perhaps you haven't even recognised it, so you haven't attacked it. Then pretty soon you find yourself thinking a lot more negative thoughts.
PETER'S NEGATIVE THINKING TESTIMONY!
12. HOW DO I KNOW ALL ABOUT THIS?--Because it's happened to ME! When I was thinking negative thoughts & thinking badly about myself & others, I didn't even recognise what was happening. They were just fleeting thoughts that would cross my mind during the course of the busy day. It wasn't happening all the time, I wasn't DWELLING on these bad thoughts, they would just come to mind when I was busy working. "Oh, did you notice that such-&-such happened?--That must mean this." "I wonder why I'M not getting to do that & THEY are," things like that. I didn't really recognise it. But pretty soon, because I got into thinking little negative thoughts like that throughout the day, I developed a HABIT of negative thinking!
13. --AND THE END RESULT OF NEGATIVE THINKING CAN BE INSANITY! It can drive you CRAZY!--Because if you keep it up, pretty soon you won't be able to CONTROL your thoughts any more. All these negative things that you're constantly thinking about & dwelling on about others & about yourself, soon they start to become very REAL to you.--ESPECIALLY the negative things about YOURSELF. "Oh, I'm just awful, look at this, look at that, I'm not what I used to be, I've just LOST it!" Negative thoughts constantly whisper DEFEAT until finally you ARE defeated--because you BELIEVE it! "As a man THINKETH in his heart, so IS he!"--Pro.23:7.
14. SUCH NEGATIVE THOUGHTS ARE A BUNCH OF LIES & GARBAGE OF THE ENEMY, "strong delusion"! (2Th.2:11.) And to listen to them & believe them is believing the DEVIL'S words! Remember what Dad said, "If it causes you to be discontent, bitter, dissatisfied, unhappy or critical of others, these things are NOT of the Lord!" So, if they're not of the LORD, who ARE they from? (Fam: The Devil!) Right!--And if you start believing them, WHO are you BELIEVING? (Fam: The Devil!)
15. WHEN YOU READ & BELIEVE GOD'S WORD, IT GIVES YOU FAITH. "Faith cometh by hearing the Word of God."--Rom.10:17. But when you listen to & believe the DEVIL'S word, you know what it gives you? DOUBTS!--And Dad has said, "Doubts are MONSTERS which devour & destroy you!" So the solution to this downward negative spiral is to do what it says in this Letter, "You must REBUKE the Enemy in Jesus' name when he tempts you with these negative thoughts!"
16. THIS NEXT PASSAGE FROM "LETTER TO A LABOURER" TELLS YOU HOW TO KEEP DOUBTS AWAY: "One of your BEST PROTECTIONS is to keep BUSY for God, OBEDIENT to those who love you in the Lord, & to FILL YOUR MIND & YOUR HEART with POSITIVE, ENCOURAGING, STRENGTHENING & FAITH-BUILDING THOUGHTS from God's WORD.--REMEMBERING, MEMORISING & CONTINUALLY QUOTING to YOURSELF & even to the ENEMY when he attacks you, & claiming such promises of God constantly as you CLING to His WORD!"--And I can add to that that you need to keep PRAISING & THANKING the Lord, & keep FIGHTING!
17. IN MANY LETTERS DAD TALKS ABOUT THE POWER OF POSITIVE PRAISE, that when you're feeling down & discouraged you really need to praise the Lord & fight. (See MLs. #1259, 1375, 2128 etc.!) You read those & it sounds really great & you think, "Wow, that's right!"--But when you get in the dumps, the LAST thing you feel like doing is praising the Lord. It's really HARD to get the old praise motor going when you're discouraged. Whenever I'd read this quote when I was in the victory, I'd think, "That's right!--I've gotta fight!" I believed it. I'd read it & say, "I'll just keep positive, pray, quote Scriptures, praise the Lord, do something positive, help somebody else!" But whenever I'd get down in the DUMPS--& I used to get REALLY down & discouraged because I was full of negative thoughts--I just couldn't even BEGIN to praise, much less quote the Word!
18. MAMA USED TO TELL ME, "PRAISE THE LORD, PETER! Think of POSITIVE things, think about all the things you DO have instead of complaining about all the things you DON'T have. Think about all those Christians in prison who don't have ANYTHING, they're all by themselves, & some don't even have their Bible. But they keep on serving the Lord & witnessing & winning others. When you think of THEM then it helps you appreciate all you DO have!" Well, I didn't WANT to think about THEM, I wanted to think about MYSELF! And I have to confess I used to get so upset every time she'd say that. I felt like, "Oh no, here comes the `prison talk' again!" (Everyone laughs) But now, I've truly grown to APPRECIATE that `prison talk,' because it's so true.
19. I DIDN'T EVEN FULLY REALISE WHAT HAD HAPPENED TO ME & THE TERRIBLE EFFECT THIS NEGATIVE THINKING HAD ON ME until I wound up COMPLETELY down & DEFEATED! Like I said, it seemed to be such a SMALL thing at first, just like that little kite string the workers use when beginning to build a bridge. When it's only a little tiny string, you can easily cut it--snip! So had I realised what was HAPPENING in the very BEGINNING, I could have easily RESISTED the Enemy & cut him OFF! But because I DIDN'T stop it, the string soon became a ROPE, which is very difficult to cut with scissors, you usually have to use a sharp knife. Then if THAT'S not cut, the rope becomes a CABLE, & pretty soon it's a solid, heavily constructed STEEL BRIDGE!--And the only way to get rid of it is with BLOW TORCHES & EXPLOSIVES!
THE DEADLY SERIOUSNESS OF NEGATIVE THINKING!
20. NEGATIVE THINKING IS THE DEVIL'S VOICE! It's the ENEMY'S words talking directly to you, & if you LISTEN to it, it works its way from your MIND to your HEART, & pretty soon it starts coming out your MOUTH--negative, critical, destructive comments.--Just the OPPOSITE of what happens when you are feeding yourself with GOD'S Word & listening to the voice of the LORD! When you're really feasting on the WORD, that's what comes out of your mouth, "for out of the abundance of the HEART, the mouth speaketh!"--Mat.12:34.
21. DAD SUMS IT UP SO WELL IN THIS QUOTE I MENTIONED EARLIER FROM "JUDAS": "Doubts are NOT just little nothings that you push aside as not very important. Doubts are MONSTERS that DEVOUR & DESTROY you & the things around you! They're the DEVIL'S THOUGHTS & SATAN'S WORDS, & when you're DOUBTING in your own mind, you're thinking the ENEMY'S THOUGHTS. And when you're VOICING your doubts to others, you're spreading SATAN'S PROPAGANDA! And it's all designed to bring division, & through division, destruction of the Work of God!" (ML#71:32.) Just like "PRAISE is the voice of FAITH," DOUBTS are the voice of UNBELIEF. Doubts voice questions, & then these questions become criticism.
22. I want to warn you that negative thinking is serious business! I used to read the Letter "Dumps" (ML#33) & think the illustration of the Christian inviting Mr. & Mrs. Devil & all their little doubtlets in to have a tea party with him was cute! But when I got myself into the midst of that big spiritual mess where I was constantly listening to all the Devil's lies, & I read that Letter, all of a sudden I realised that for me "Dumps" is one of the most important Letters that exists!--Because it exposes so clearly how the Devil operates!
23. I don't like to talk a lot about the Devil, & I don't like to give the Devil a lot of credit, but I do like to expose his tricks & evil devices so others won't make the same mistake I did! At first, I wasn't really aware of the seriousness of what I was doing. And because I never talked about it to anybody, no one ever realised I was listening to the Devil's voice all the time & being bombarded with all these negative thoughts! But I was, & when I finally spoke up & it was all exposed, I realised what an absolute mess I had gotten myself into!
24. I THEN GOT DESPERATE & ASKED FOR PRAYER, & I GOT DELIVERED, TTL! The Lord gave me a wonderful victory! And now I feel compelled to WARN you that negative thinking is a WICKED device of the Enemy, & if you're caught up in that web, you need to do something about it NOW!--You need to FIGHT & get FREED from it & get BACK with the LORD! When you're thinking negative, doubtful, critical & discouraging thoughts, it means you're listening to the Devil's voice, & if you believe those negative thoughts, then you're yielding to the Enemy!
25. I'M SORRY TO PREACH ON SUCH A NEGATIVE SUBJECT, BUT I'VE SEEN NEGATIVE THINKING LITERALLY DESTROY PEOPLE SPIRITUALLY RIGHT BEFORE MY EYES! I watched a Teen in our own house, Mene, go down that road. Her negative thinking had become such a HABIT that there was virtually nothing she could do in the natural realm to stop it. Even when we had united prayer over her & she would get delivered--and she really WAS delivered, she would admit that herself--because she had developed such a terrible HABIT of doubting & thinking negatively & critically about EVERYTHING, it wasn't long before she was back on the negative track again! She had let it go on for so long, not fighting or resisting it, the ROOTS of her negative thinking had grown so deep & were so entrenched in her, they ultimately DESTROYED her spiritually & mentally!
26. THAT'S THE DEVIL'S BUSINESS, TO DESTROY YOU. (1Pet.5:8.)--And when you start LISTENING to his lies & his negative thoughts & AGREEING with them about anything, then you've allowed the ENEMY to gain an entrance. From that point on you'll start heading downhill fast, to the point that he'll talk you into backsliding! He's really crafty, & he'll do anything he can to trick you. But you DON'T have to LET yourself get into that situation. There's a power that's MUCH GREATER than the Devil's, the power of GOD & the power of GOD'S WORD.--"GREATER is He that is in YOU, than he that is in the WORLD!"--1Jn.4:4.
THE CURE FOR NEGATIVE THINKING!
27. HOW CAN YOU KEEP YOURSELF FROM NEGATIVE THINKING, from believing the Devil's lies?--You protect yourself by doing what Dad says in this quote: "FILL YOUR MIND & YOUR HEART WITH POSITIVE, ENCOURAGING, STRENGTHENING, FAITH-BUILDING THOUGHTS FROM GOD'S WORD, REMEMBERING & MEMORISING & continually QUOTING to yourself & to the Enemy when he attacks you, & claiming such promises of God constantly as you cling to His Word!"--ML#325:7.
28. I RECENTLY HEARD FROM A BROTHER WHO WAS HAVING PROBLEMS WITH BEING CRITICAL OF OTHERS. The Enemy would attack him with little critical thoughts about people. So do you know what he finally did? Every time he got a critical thought against somebody, he began to immediately PRAY for that person & REBUKE the critical thought! Pretty soon he was praying for people a LOT. But the Enemy certainly doesn't want you PRAYING for people, so if he knows every time you get one of his critical thoughts you're going to PRAY instead of CRITICISE, pretty soon he'll STOP! Or if he knows that every time you start to think critically about YOURSELF, you'll start PRAISING & THANKING the Lord & quoting Scripture AGAINST the Enemy, he'll stop attacking you.--If not IMMEDIATELY, at least EVENTUALLY.
29. LIKE DAD HAS SO OFTEN SAID, IF YOU WANT TO GET RID OF THE DARKNESS, YOU JUST HAVE TO LET THE LIGHT IN! Jesus said, "Abide in Me & I in you" (Jn.15:4), it's a TWO-WAY street. You already have the Lord in you, He abides in you, you're saved, but YOU'VE got to do YOUR part & abide in HIM too. It takes BOTH. And to truly abide in Him you have to fill yourself up with His WORD.--"If ye abide in Me & My WORDS abide in you, you shall ask what ye will & it shall be done unto you!"--Jn.15:7. Who is the Word?--JESUS is the Word! So you've got to fill yourself up with Him, continually quote Him & stay POSITIVE!
IF IT GETS YOU DOWN, DON'T THINK ABOUT IT!
30. I KNOW IN SOME CASES IT MAY SEEM KIND OF DIFFICULT TO ALWAYS BE SO POSITIVE. Maybe you're separated from somebody you love dearly. Maybe you get that sinking feeling whenever you start to think about them.--You start to get lonely, you miss them, you start to feel discouraged. Therefore, to protect yourself, the BEST thing you could do is just DON'T think about them. If thinking about them gets you down & discouraged, think about something ELSE! Think POSITIVELY! Praise the Lord!
31. WE'VE HAD PEOPLE VISIT OUR HOME WHO HAD REAL TRIALS AFTER A WHILE BECAUSE THEY HAD TO LEAVE THEIR MATE OR THEIR KIDS. They'd get discouraged about being separated from their loved ones, & it was quite difficult for them. Some have said, "I want to PRAY for my loved ones, but whenever I pray for them I start THINKING about them, & then I start MISSING them, & then the Enemy really starts attacking me & getting me down!" So do you know what Mama suggested?--DON'T pray for them!--ESPECIALLY not if you're going to get on a big bummer whenever you do. Mama suggested that they ask someone ELSE to faithfully pray for their loved ones every day! That way, you'll be assured that they're getting PRAYER, but YOU'RE not personally involved, so you don't have to start thinking about them.
32. WHEN I FIRST CAME TO BE WITH THE FOLKS, I LEFT MY WIFE & MY CHILDREN. Right off the bat Dad talked to me & said, "You know, Son, when I used to be on the road, I was away from my family for two to three weeks every month. I never took any pictures along of my wife or kids--anything that reminded me of them--because when I was out there doing the Lord's work, if I had these pictures of my family, I'd find myself staring at them & mooning & pining over what I was MISSING! It'd cause me to get my mind OFF of God's work as I looked back to the past & at what I DIDN'T have, & it just started getting me down & discouraged!" I knew what he was saying was so true, as my pictures of my wife & kids had exactly the SAME effect on ME.--So I went straight to my room & put AWAY all of my pictures of them!
33. Getting rid of my pictures helped me not to think so much about my wife & kids, but I also found I had to guard my thoughts. I had a tendency to daydream about my wife, which would get me discouraged. When lonely, I'd think about her & who she was with, & then I'd start feeling sad or even jealous because of the little make-believe fantasy my tripped-off mind was daydreaming about. For people prone to jealousy, even if it's not really happening & not even reality, it's very easy to conjure up a little story or scenario in your mind, a little fantasy about your loved one, & it's an open door for the Enemy to immediately come right in with all of his negative thoughts!
34. THE NEXT THING YOU KNOW, YOU START FEELING ALL JEALOUS OR SAD & DOWN.--When it's all a total FABRICATION in your MIND! It's just in your HEAD! But it becomes very REAL to you when you ENTERTAIN it & give PLACE to it. These feelings of jealousy or of sadness are very real to you, but they've come from the DEVIL, they're NOT the LORD at all. So what do you do? You've got to SLAM the door of your mind shut, & not even THINK the thought, & absolutely REFUSE to let your mind WANDER! You can't let yourself just lie down & start FANTASISING & DAYDREAMING!
DAYDREAMING DANGERS!
35. IT'S VERY DANGEROUS TO LET YOUR MIND WANDER & DREAM UP FANTASIES! I know what I'm talking about because I've DONE it! You just start thinking up little fascinating stories in your head. In your fantasy you might do something very heroic, maybe you save the day or do something great!--Maybe you're a knight in shining armour & you save the girls!--Ha! Well, it may sound funny, but a lot of people do it! You know what that kind of daydreaming does? It feeds your PRIDE!
36. IT MAY BE PLEASANT & FUN & FEEL SO GOOD, but, let me tell you, that sort of thing is feeding your spirit the WRONG input, & it often causes you to be DISSATISFIED with REALITY, how the Lord made you! Even SEXUAL fantasies can sometimes cause you to become discontent & make you murmur. Let's say you're feeling sexy, & there's no one around to spend time with, so you masturbate, & while doing so you think of somebody in particular who you really like. I'm sure none of you guys would ever do that, right? (Big laughter!) Well, I'd always considered that sort of thing fairly harmless, & it CAN be harmless, but it recently occurred to me that if it causes you to be DISCONTENT & makes you MURMUR--"I can't be with so-&-so, but someone ELSE can!"--or any other kind of complaints, then it's NOT so harmless after all.
37. THIS SORT OF THING IS SOMEWHAT RELATED TO NEGATIVE THINKING because any of these kind of little fantasies that feed your pride or cause you to be discontent, unhappy, jealous or critical are really BAD for you & are from the ENEMY. The thing we have to realise is that the Enemy of our soul has a GOAL, & his goal is to get in & do as much DAMAGE as he possibly can! He'll use ANYTHING to get in, be it negative thoughts, criticism, daydreaming, little fantasies, etc. That's why you have to "GIRD UP the loins of your mind & be SOBER & VIGILANT!"--1Pet.1:13; 5:8.
38. WHATEVER YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT, WHATEVER'S GOING ON IN YOUR HEAD, maybe nobody knows about it but you & the Lord, so you're RESPONSIBLE to be ON GUARD. Dad said, "Remember that not all voices are of God, but you must `TRY the spirits.'" You've got to test them, check them out against God's Word. What are YOUR thoughts feeding YOU? "If they cause you to be DISCONTENT, UNHAPPY or cause you to be BITTER, or DISSATISFIED, or CRITICAL of others, then these things are NOT of the Lord & you must REBUKE the Enemy in Jesus' name when he tempts you with these negative thoughts!"
STICK TO WHAT YOU KNOW IS GOOD!
39. YOU KNOW GOD'S WORD IS GOOD, YOU KNOW IT'S FEEDING. You know PRAISING & QUOTING VERSES & SINGING is good. So even if you're not sure of anything ELSE, just STICK with GOD'S WORD, what you KNOW is good, & fight against anything that causes you to head downward in discouragement, discontent & defeat! Rebuke it as soon as it STARTS!
40. JUST LIKE YOU USE YOUR EYES & YOUR NOSE TO DISCERN IF FOOD IS GOOD OR BAD, use your SPIRITUAL eyes & nose to discern whether your THOUGHTS are POSITIVE ones from the LORD, or NEGATIVE ones from the DEVIL! If someone hands you a plate of rotten food, you can usually SEE if it's bad, in which case you DON'T eat it, right?--Or maybe it even LOOKS good, but once you SMELL it, you can tell it's off. The Lord created these physical senses so you could discern what's good food & what's bad food. You don't want to eat rotten meat because it will make you sick as a dog, poison you, & might even KILL you. In like manner, you want to avoid anything that's going to SPIRITUALLY poison you & make you SPIRITUALLY sick. And the way you can "smell" it spiritually is to "TRY the spirits" (1Jn. 4:1), WEIGH it against God's WORD. And if you're just not SURE if it's good or bad for you, then play it SAFE & just stick to what you KNOW is GOOD.
41. MUSIC IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE: We all know that the Devil's jungle music & heavy-metal rock & all that real screaming-meemie stuff is bad, that's pretty OBVIOUS. But back during the days of FFing when we were in the clubs & listened to a lot of System music, a lot of it seemed pretty nice. Often it was pleasant to the ears, it wasn't hard rock, it was sweet & mellow. But I know a lot of that music affected me in a BAD way. And whenever I happen to hear it now when I'm out in the System, it makes me a little sad & nostalgic & reminds me of where I was when that song was popular. It also reminds me of how jealous I was during that time, & the whole message of the song just has a BAD effect on me. So I've learned to AVOID & NOT listen to it because it bears BAD fruit in my life. However, our FAMILY music about JESUS, & our SCRIPTURE SONGS about the WORD, I KNOW they're clean, healthy food & GOOD for me. So THAT'S what I choose to listen to.
42. LIKE ANYTHING, YOU HAVE TO TRY THE SPIRITS, you have to see what's the EFFECT. If you find something has a BAD effect on you, then AVOID it. If drinking wine causes you to become discouraged or down, like it does me, then just don't drink it. If you know that being around certain people is not good for you, AVOID them. If there's some person with whom you tend to get foolish or shallow, avoid them.
43. If there's anything that causes you to get off the track, anything you can't seem to overcome & get the victory over, then you should avoid it. If thinking about loved ones that you can't be with causes you to go through trials, then don't think about them.
44. COMPARING YOURSELF TO OTHERS, DWELLING ON YOUR FRAILTIES & FAULTS & WEAKNESSES--all these kinds of thoughts are NEGATIVE & DESTRUCTIVE thoughts, & you should AVOID them, resist them, rebuke them! If listening to music or drinking wine or WHATEVER it is DISTURBS you or causes you to get DOWN & DISCOURAGED, or causes you to be DISSATISFIED or DISCONTENT or BITTER or CRITICAL or UNHAPPY or SAD, then AVOID it! RESIST these negative influences in your life!
45. START THINKING POSITIVELY, QUOTE SCRIPTURES, GET IN THE WORD. You KNOW that the LETTERS are OK, you KNOW that the things the FAMILY produces are OK, so stick with those. Fill your heart & your mind & your spirit & your thoughts with the GOOD things, the PURE things, the CLEAN things. "Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any VIRTUE, if there be any PRAISE, THINK on THESE things!"--Phil.4:8. Fill your mind & heart with them, dwell on them, memorise & quote them. Think about your many BLESSINGS. If you can't be with the people you love & miss, then think about all the lovely people you ARE with NOW, & praise the Lord for them! "REJOICE EVERMORE! In EVERYTHING give THANKS!"--1Thes.5:16,18.
PRAISE YOUR WAY THROUGH!
46. EVEN WHEN YOU'RE HAVING DIFFICULT & TRYING TIMES, you should still PRAISE the Lord & think on the GOOD things. "Count it all JOY when you fall into divers temptations."--Jam.1:2. You're even supposed to praise & be thankful & count it all joy when you have TROUBLE & HARDSHIPS. "Wherein ye greatly REJOICE, though now for a season, if need be, you are in HEAVINESS through manifold TEMPTATIONS."--1Pet.1:6. Even if you are in "HEAVINESS through manifold temptations," you should STILL "greatly rejoice"! Look at the POSITIVE side & praise the Lord ANYWAY!--"That the TRIAL OF YOUR FAITH, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto PRAISE & HONOUR & GLORY."--1Pet.1:7.
47. PRAISE THE LORD FOR YOUR TROUBLES, praise the Lord for the hard times, "in EVERYTHING give thanks"! But WHATEVER you do, don't murmur or gripe or groan or become discontent or critical! When the Enemy starts speaking to you & feeding you doubts, fears & negative thoughts about yourself or others, or little fantasies that minister to your pride, or memories & ideas that get you discouraged because you can't be with your loved ones, if those thoughts & ideas bring you down & cause you to be DISCOURAGED, DEFEATED, BITTER, DISCONTENT & CRITICAL, they are definitely NOT of God!
48. AND IF YOU KNOW THOSE THINGS AREN'T OF THE LORD, THEN YOU NEED TO FIGHT AGAINST THEM, go on the ATTACK, take positive action AGAINST those negative influences & destructive thoughts! Don't ALLOW yourself to think or dwell on them, or they'll ATTACH themselves to you & become a PART of you!--Like that verse says, "As a man THINKETH in his HEART, so IS he."--Pro.23:7.
49. IF YOU DON'T RESIST THE DEVIL, if you listen to his voice & believe his lies, if you give PLACE to him & allow him to infiltrate your mind, heart & soul with his poisonous gas, then he has gained ENTRANCE to your soul & he'll try to DESTROY you! It starts out small & you get just a LITTLE bit discouraged or just a LITTLE bit jealous or just a LITTLE bit fearful or discontent, but like Eve in the Garden, you listen.--And pretty soon you're AGREEING & you pull up a chair & invite Mr. & Mrs. Devil & all their doubtlets in for a tea party!--And let me warn you, that's the most DANGEROUS thing you can do because it's communicating with the Enemy!
50. DAD SUMS THE POINT OF ALL THIS UP BEAUTIFULLY WHEN HE SAYS, "YOU MUST REBUKE THE ENEMY IN JESUS' NAME when he tempts you with these NEGATIVE THOUGHTS"! If you'll just DO that, if you'll STIR yourself up & FIGHT them & RESIST them & REBUKE them & "give NO place to the Enemy," then you'll KEEP the victory.
51. THIS LESSON IS ESPECIALLY IMPORTANT FOR OUR LEADERSHIP, because if YOU can't stay in the victory, if you're not going to be POSITIVE, if you're listening to the Devil's lies & are in communication with him through your negative thinking, how are you going to be a good effective leader? You're going to be constantly thinking about YOURSELF & constantly engaged in your own PERSONAL battles when you should be out there helping OTHERS! So when you find yourself heading down that negative track, FIGHT! And if you can't seem to get the victory over it yourself, ask for PRAYER. "One can chase a thousand, but two can put ten thousand to flight." "Two are better than one."--Deut.32:30; Ecc.4:9.
52. DAD SAYS IN "OLD BOTTLES" (ML#242) THAT THE ONLY WAY THE DEVIL CAN GET THE VICTORY IS BY PERSUADING YOU TO QUIT, to give up & surrender. So once you start LISTENING to the Enemy & you've stopped FIGHTING, you're virtually SURRENDERING to him, you're letting him in, & it's just POISONOUS! And that poison is hard to get out. It's a lot easier to STOP it at the very BEGINNING, to RESIST it & FIGHT!--Amen?
53. God bless & keep you positive in your thoughts, words & actions! PTL!
Copyright (c) 1998 by The Family