Gateway Church Live | “4 Steps to Transform Your Thinking” by Pastor Daniel Floyd | January 17–18

We're so glad that you're here with us. I just ((music playing)) want to welcome you. I want to welcome everybody joining us online. All of our prison campuses. We're so grateful that you're with us. Are you ready to worship? Come on, let's just fill this place with ((music playing)) our worship today, God.

We glorify you. Well, we honor you and thrown you on our praise, Jesus. We say, "I'm praised in the valley and praise on the mountain. ((music playing)) I'll praise when I'm sure and praise when I'm doubting. ((music playing)) I'll praise when I'm number and praise when surrounded. His praise is ((music playing)) the water my enemies drowning.

((music playing)) As long as I'm breathing, I've got a reason to praise ((music playing)) the Lord, oh my soul. Praise ((music playing)) the Lord, oh my soul. I'm praise when I'm feeling. Praise when I don't. ((music playing)) I'm praise cuz I know you're still in control. ((music playing)) Cuz my praise is awesome. ((music playing)) As long ((music playing)) as I'm free, I've got a reason to pray.

((music playing)) Oh my soul. >> ((music playing)) >> Heat up ((music playing)) here. ((music playing)) >> ((music playing)) >> Praise God. ((music playing)) We say, "I'll praise cuz you're ((music playing)) sorry. Praise cuz you praise cuz you rose and defeated ((music playing)) the grave. I'll praise cuz you're faithful. Praise cuz you're true. Praise cuz there's nobody greater than you. ((music playing)) I'll praise cuz you're sovereign.

Praise cuz you rain. Praise cuz you rose and defeated in the grave. ((music playing)) I'll praise cuz you're faithful. Praise cuz you're true. Praise cuz ((music playing)) there's nobody greater than you. Praise the Lord, oh my ((music playing)) soul. Praise ((music playing)) the Lord. Oh my soul. Praise ((music playing)) the Lord. ((music playing)) >> ((music playing)) >> I won't be quiet.

My god is alive. How could I keep ((music playing)) quiet? My god is alive. How could I keep ((music playing)) quiet? My god is alive. How could I keep inside ((music playing)) ((music playing)) my soul praise ((music playing)) you Jesus for you Jesus ((music playing)) praise the Lord. ((music playing)) Yes, Lord. >> Yes, you are. >> Yes, Lord. We praise you for your goodness.

((music playing)) Come on. Who in this room knows that our God is good always at all times? Lord, we glorify you in this place. ((music playing)) My shepher, [music and singing] my refuge, and my ((music playing)) shelter. The [singing] enies surround. He's my defender. Thank you, Lord. He's faithful and patient. He's [singing and music] loving and he's gracious. From age to age, [music and singing] his goodness never changes.

Come on, sing this out. ((music playing)) I will sing praise. I will sing praise. ((music playing)) For the Lord [singing] is good always. All of my days held by [music and singing] his grace. For the Lord is good. ((music playing)) The Lord is good. Always always ((music playing)) ((music playing)) my treasure. He's good ((music playing)) beyond all [singing] measure. I see ((music playing)) I see there's nothing better.

So forever ((music playing)) I will sing praise. I will sing praise for ((music playing)) the Lord is good always my days. ((music playing)) For the Lord is good. ((music playing)) I'll sing praise. I'll sing ((music playing)) for the Lord is good. ((music playing)) All my [singing] days is good. ((music playing)) Heat. Heat. Heat. ((music playing)) >> ((music playing)) ((music playing)) >> Oh, I'm standing on the rock, the rock of ages, [music and singing] holding to the hope that's never failing.

I've [music and singing] got all I need, cuz I got it. ((music playing)) I'm standing on the rock the rock [music and singing] of aes Heat. Heat. Heat. ((music playing)) Heat. Heat. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Heat. Heat. ((music playing)) Heat. Heat. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Heat. Heat. Heat. ((music playing)) I see praise. I see ((music playing)) my days. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Heat. ((music playing)) Heat. ((music playing)) Heat. Heat. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) I got ((music playing)) cuz I got you. ((music playing)) I'm standing on the rock the rock [singing] of ((music playing)) aes to the never [singing] failing.

I ((music playing)) got all I need cuz I got you. Yeah. Heat. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Heat. Heat. [singing] ((music playing)) I ((music playing)) got all I need cuz I got you. I ((music playing)) sing praise. I'll sing praise for the Lord is good. ((music playing)) All [singing] of my days held by his grace for ((music playing)) the Lord. Come on, let's sing that again.

Oh, I ((music playing)) will sing praise. I will sing praise for the Lord ((music playing)) is good always all of my [music and singing] days. Help by his grace. For ((music playing)) the Lord is good. The Lord is [singing] good always. ((music playing)) Come on, you tell them in this room, [snorts] the Lord is good. ((music playing)) Always. [singing] The Lord is good [music and singing] always.

Thank you, Jesus. ((music playing)) The Lord is good ((music playing)) always. The Lord is good always. [singing] So [music and singing] I throw up my hands. Praise you again and again. [singing] ((music playing)) All that I have is a hallelujah. [singing] ((music playing)) Hallelujah. [singing] ((music playing)) I know it's not true. I've nothing ((music playing)) else fit for a king except for [singing] a heart singing hallelujah.

((music playing)) Hallelujah. [singing] [singing] ((music playing)) [singing] Can we sing that ((music playing)) again? So [singing] I throw up my hands and praise you ((music playing)) again and again. All that [music and singing] I have is a hallelujah. Hallelu. [singing] I know it's not much, but I'm nothing [singing] else ((music playing)) fit for a king except for a heart singing hallelujah. ((music playing)) Hallelujah. [singing] ((music playing)) Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Amen. Amen.

You know, coming out of our 12 days of prayer that we've done as a church here, I just really felt like we just would we just sing about the goodness of God. You know, we've been praying and contending over these last couple of weeks, we're seeing testimony after testimony and ((music playing)) and I'm reminded of this scripture.

It's in Psalms Psalms 103. It ((music playing)) says, "Let all that I am praise the Lord with my whole heart. I will praise his holy name. Let all that I am praise the Lord. ((music playing)) And may I never forget the good things he does for me." And so right now in this moment, can we just ((music playing)) remind ourselves of every good and perfect gift that God has placed in our lives?

Can we just remind ((music playing)) ourselves of that? I just think right now just walking through my house this morning and seeing the the family that God knitted together for me through foster and adoption and only God can do that. And there's ((music playing)) things in each of our lives where we know that only God can do this.

And so Lord, as we just worship you in this place, God, we remind ourselves of every good and perfect ((music playing)) gift in our lives, Lord. It comes from you. Lord, we thank you're faithful and Lord, we know you're good. So God, we worship you ((music playing)) in this place. We worship you, Jesus.

((music playing)) >> Thank you, Lord. ((music playing)) I love you, Lord. Oh, ((music playing)) your mercy never fails me. ((music playing)) And all my days, I've been held in your hands. From the moment that I ((music playing)) wake [singing] up until I lay my head, ((music playing)) I will sing of the goodness of God. ((music playing)) All my life you have been faithful.

((music playing)) All my life you [music and singing] have been so so good. With ((music playing)) every [singing] breath that I am able, ((music playing)) I will sing of the goodness of God. Yes, ((music playing)) we sing of your [singing] goodness. I love your voice. ((music playing)) For you have led me through the fire in darkest ((music playing)) nights. You are close like no other.

I've known you as a father. ((music playing)) I've known you as a friend. And I have lived in the goodness of God. ((music playing)) All my life you [music and singing] have been faithful. ((music playing)) All my life you have been so so good. ((music playing)) With every breath that I am able, ((music playing)) I will sing of the goodness of God.

All my life, ((music playing)) all my life, [singing] you have been faith. Yes, ((music playing)) you have. All my life you have been so so ((music playing)) good. With every [singing] breath that I am, ((music playing)) I receive of the goodness of ((music playing)) God. Come on in faith. We sing this. Your ((music playing)) goodness is running after. It's running after me.

Your ((music playing)) goodness is running after. It's running after me. ((music playing)) With my life laid down, I'm surrendered now. I ((music playing)) give you everything. Your own goodness is running after. ((music playing)) It's running after. We believe it. We believe. ((music playing)) It's running after me. Heat. Heat. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Heat. Heat. Heat. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Heat. Heat. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) I ((music playing)) give you everything.

Your goodness is running after ((music playing)) is running after me. All my ((music playing)) life you have been faithful. All my life [singing] you have been so ((music playing)) so good. With every breath that [music and singing] I am able, I will sing ((music playing)) of the goodness of God. Oh, I will sing ((music playing)) of the goodness of God. Oh, I will ((music playing)) sing of the goodness of God.

((music playing)) Yes, we see how great you are, Lord. ((music playing)) How great, how great ((music playing)) is your faithfulness. Just declare his goodness today. ((music playing)) I'll praise your faithfulness. Let my life sing. ((music playing)) I'll never stop singing. Oh, ((music playing)) I'll never stop singing. Oh, ((music playing)) my whole life for your glory. my whole world for ((music playing)) you. Everything for the honor of your name.

And if my ((music playing)) days tell a story, let it be of you. All the everything ((music playing)) for the honor [singing] of your name. ((music playing)) In my world for you in my ((music playing)) world for you everything for the ((music playing)) you ((music playing)) ((music playing)) of your Heat. Heat. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Heat. Heat. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Heat. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Heat. ((music playing)) Yeah. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Heat. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Heat. Heat. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Heat. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Heat. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Yeah.

Heat. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) It's all for you, Jesus. All the honor, all the glory. ((music playing)) Well, welcome to church, everybody. What a great day to be in God's house. And really, isn't that the essence of our Christian life? that we would live our whole life for the honor and for the glory of the Lord.

It's what David said in the Psalms. Not to us, oh Lord, not to us, but to your name be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Amen, everyone. Amen. Well, I'm so excited to be joining up with all of our campuses right ((music playing)) now and of course all of our prison campuses and our gateway gatherings.

And I wanted to take a moment uh you know tomorrow we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and remember his contribution ((applause)) to our nation ((music playing)) and it's been so encouraging. You know he obviously stood ((music playing)) for the end of segregation and the evil that was wrapped up in that.

And as Tammy and I have got to go to many of our campuses and and we're coming to more. Uh we will make it to all of them uh in the next few weeks. But as I go around, I'm just ((music playing)) so encouraged and amazed and really grateful at the diversity of Gateway Church.

To me, I see our campuses and to me it looks a little bit like heaven that every nation, every tribe, every tongue will be gathered around the throne joining with the angels singing, "Holy, holy, ((music playing)) holy is the Lord God Almighty." You know, a lot of us know Dr.

King for the work that he did in ending segregation and giving his life to that. But what we maybe forget is that he was also a pastor and ((music playing)) faithfully served the local church and uh as I've studied his life and in that I've studied some of his messages and I mean some great preaching everybody if you ever want ((music playing)) some free time go read some of those messages.

And there was a line in one that he preached at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Alabama. And there's some debate on whether or not it was in a book or it was in the message. ((music playing)) Um, but he said this phrase which I thought was something we should really contemplate that tomorrow is more than a day off but may it affect how we live.

And he said this the most important and persistent question is what will we do for others? The ethos and philosophy that he had was birthed out of theology. And out of that theology ((music playing)) is what we saw in his efforts towards segregation and unity. And so I want us to wrestle with that question.

It reminds me of what Jesus said. The son of man did not come to be served, but he came to ((music playing)) serve and to offer his life up as a ransom for many. And so may it be the marker of Gateway Church, not that just we have unity amongst diversity, but it may be a mark of us that we answer that question.

What will I do for others? Because here's the natural pull of life is to get your eyes on you. What do I get out of this? How does ((music playing)) this benefit me? Sometimes, unfortunately, we can even walk into church on a weekend like that. What am I going to get out of it?

Are they gonna sing the song I like? Is am I gonna get some? Now, we should come in going, God, what can I give to others? And what can I give to you? How can I bless somebody around me? And how can I bless the name of Jesus?

((music playing)) And so, might that be the marker of our heart, not just on a Sunday, but how we walk through our day. ((music playing)) May we stop at the coffee shop thinking, what can I do for that person? How can I be a blessing? Is it a word I speak? Is it a service I give?

Is it kindness that flows out of me? What the most important and persistent question is what can I do for others? ((music playing)) May we live that Jesus life? Son of man did not come to be ((music playing)) served but to serve and to offer up his life. May we follow the way of ((music playing)) Jesus.

Amen everyone. May that be said of us. [snorts] May that be said of us. Well, ((music playing)) ((applause)) let's pray together. Father, we honor you today. Your name is great. We thank you for the model of Jesus ((music playing)) who came and laid his life down. Could have come in a throne and could have come ((music playing)) with power and could have come with flashes of brilliance, but came ((music playing)) as a servant.

May that be the essence of our heart, God. May we not look at this life through the lens of ((music playing)) how can I get and how can I get ahead, but how can I serve? How can I humble myself? Be the hands and feet of Jesus in every ((music playing)) environment and every sphere of influence that you put us in.

May we point people to you. May we shine ((music playing)) the light of Jesus. May we so let our light shine before men that they would see our good works and ((music playing)) glorify our father which is in heaven. We honor you today. We worship ((music playing)) you, King Jesus. And it's in your mighty name that we pray.

And everybody said, "Amen." Amen. Amen. Hey, how many of you did you get to come to worship and prayer night on Friday? ((music playing)) How amazing was that? I just got to say how proud I am of our church. ((music playing)) Just the engagement. I mean, thousands of people praying at 6 a.m.

We were in three overflows Friday night just leaning in to How many of you know that you win the battle in the spiritual before you ever win it in the natural? And I believe we saw a lot of victories in the in the spirit. And uh so I'm so excited, expectant for what God's going to do in the year ahead.

And uh I'm ready to get into the word. Week three, brand new of this new series we're in. ((music playing)) And uh so before we do, why don't you say hello to somebody around you, high-five somebody, learn a new name, meet someone you don't know. ((music playing)) >> ((music playing)) ((music playing)) >> I will ((music playing)) sing praise.

I will sing praise for the ((music playing)) Lord is good always all of my ((music playing)) days. Held by his grace. For ((music playing)) the Lord is good. The Lord is good always. ((music playing)) Well, good morning. Welcome to church. We're so glad that you're here. And uh what a great season to be a part of Gateway Church, everybody. >> Amen.

God's doing some wonderful, wonderful things. ((music playing)) And uh yeah, that's worth clapping for. you know, a few of you are going to Let's Oh, we're in this series called Built Different. We're talking about habits that change your life. And if you're new to church, a series is simply a collection of talks around one common theme.

((music playing)) And we've been basing our theme on this verse found in 1 Timothy 4 verse 7 and 8 that says this, "Do not waste time arguing over godless ideas and old wives tales. Instead, train yourself to be godly. Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better.

Promising benefits in the life in this life and in the life to come. Physical training is good, but training for godliness is better. And this whole idea is that in training and godliness ((music playing)) that there's going to take some discipline. It's going to take some commitment. It's going to take some consistency. >> ((music playing)) >> Consistency will compound over time in your life if you'll train yourself to godliness and it will benefit you right now and it will benefit you in the life to come.

((music playing)) And so we've been talking about week one we talked about the habit of prayer in our life and the power of that praying in faith. Last week we talked about the power of building our life upon the word of God. This week I want to talk to you about this habit.

I want to give you four steps to transform ((music playing)) your thinking. four steps to transform your thinking. I believe this will be the best year that you've ever had if it's your best year spiritually. And it will be very hard for it to be your best year spiritually if you don't learn to get a hold of your thinking.

So, we're going to talk about that today. Let's pray together. Father, our hearts and minds are open to you. Holy Spirit, speak to us. We believe that we'll never be the same because of it. And we pray this in Jesus' name. Everybody said a big amen. ((music playing)) >> Amen.

So few years ago, Tammy and I Tammy brought her computer to me and um it was broken which I was shocked at because it was an Apple computer and they're blessed by the Lord. This say that for all of our Android friends who calls green bubbles in the group chats.

We pray for you in the name of Jesus. [laughter] But I opened it up and it wasn't the um you know the beach ball of death uh that was spinning. There was something else happening. And so I took it to a friend of mine who's in IT and I said, "Hey, can you tell me what's going on with this computer?"

And he says to me, he says, "Well, the hard drive is corrupt and so the rest of the computer won't work." And I was like, "Well, what's a hard drive?" Yeah, I'm not that techsavvy, but I was like, "What's a hard drive?" And he said, "Basically, he dumbed it down to it's the brain of your computer, and if that's corrupt, then the computer doesn't operate the way that it's supposed to."

And I thought, wow, is that not describe us? That when our thinking is corrupt, then the rest of us doesn't live the way that God intended for us to live. Here's the reality in life is this. I don't know if you ever thought about this, but your thinking is really what drives your living. that every action you take, every word you speak, um whether it was an encouraging word or whether it was a word that you regretted, every thing that you did, every choice you made, whether it led you down a road that was good or led you down a road that was bad.

The reality is is that all of our living is the result of how we think. And our thinking is shaped by so many things in our life. Our thinking is shaped by, you know, the environment we grew up in. We all grew up in a family system and that family system was either healthy or it was unhealthy.

It was either a little bit healthy and a little bit unhealthy. How many of you know that we all have a little crazy? Every family, I don't care who you are. Um, there's a little crazy in there. And and that begins to shape our thinking. Your thinking is shaped by experiences in life.

It can be shaped by traumatic moments in your life. Your thinking is shaped by often, unfortunately, the words that have been spoken over you. And some of you, you grew up in environments and you had a moment, maybe it was in a class where something was spoken over your life.

I remember whenever I was in um seventh grade, I had a math teacher tell me that, Daniel, [snorts] um you probably shouldn't think about college. That moment marked me. Now, the flesh side of me wanted to go with all four of my college degrees and be like, "How you like me now?"

But I'm that is not godly. Don't do that. That kind of stuff shapes your thinking. And when your thinking is shaped by that, then then your thinking can can be flooded with insecurity. It can be flooded with fear. It can be flooded with anxiety. It can be flooded with all kinds of things in our thinking.

And if we don't learn to control our thinking, submit it to the word of God, then that can begin to prohibit our destiny, it can begin to prohibit great faith steps that God wants to do in and through our life. We can live below the good and great plans that God has for us because we are so bound by, let me say it this way, stinking thinking. and it can trap us and it can imprison us.

And there is so much more that God has for us. It is not that God has favorites and God is blessing someone and doesn't want to bless you. It could be that fear is trapping you and keeping you from taking a step of faith that would cause you to walk into a blessing that would be more than you could ever think, ask, or imagine.

But because your thinking has trapped you, then you're you're afraid to take those steps or to make those moves. And we've got to learn to capture our thoughts. We got to be able to control our thinking. We've got to be able to allow the word of God to saturate our thinking and and teach us how to have, as Paul described in the New Testament, the mind of Christ.

So, I want to talk about that today. I want to build some foundation for it. Then I'm going to give you four practical steps on how to transform your thinking or what we're going to read how Paul says it in Romans 12, how to renew your mind. And your mind needs to be renewed.

Because here's the reality, everybody. Just because you accepted Christ, raised your hand, prayed a prayer, came however it happened for you, just because you received salvation doesn't mean that all of the thinking from your old life was changed in a moment. >> Let me say it this way.

Just because you came out of Egypt doesn't mean Egypt came out of you. >> And so your thinking has to be transformed to get the Egypt out of you. This is why Israel was delivered from Pharaoh. but still thinking like slaves. Are y'all tracking with me? And some of you have been delivered by the blood and the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, but you're still living as though you were bound because Jesus saved you, but he has this process of sanctifying you, which is simply a word that means he is he is chiseling away everything that is not of him from you.

And the way that he does that is by transforming or renewing your mind. If you're with me, say amen. Romans 12 verse one, the scripture says this, verse one and two, therefore I urge you, brothers, this is Paul writing to the church in Rome. The book of Romans is really the cornerstone of the New Testament.

It is rich in doctrine, rich in theology. And he says this to them. I urge you brothers in view of God's mercy to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This is your spiritual act of worship. So worship is only partially when we sing.

It's only partially if you lift a hand. It's only partially. This isn't it. It doesn't matter how high you can jump in a building. It's when your feet hit the ground. Do you look like Jesus when you are in the coffee shop? That's worship. Are y'all with me? >> It's your spirit.

It's it's I'm gonna give my whole body to this. And then he says this in verse two. Do not conform any longer to the pattern. Everybody shout pattern >> to the pattern of this world. So there is a pattern. There's a there's a way of thinking that is according to the world. but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

So if you want transformation in your life, if you're tired of the hang-ups and the habits and the issues and re reoccurring sin and feeling like you're on a merrygoround of life and the names and the faces change, but it seems like the issues are the same over and over and over and you keep revisiting these things.

He says, if you want to be transformed, then you're transformed by the renewal of your mind. And when your mind gets renewed, then you're going to be able to test and approve what God's will is. You want to know what God's purpose and plan for you is, his good, pleasing, and perfect will.

You want to know how to decipher that and understand that and test that. Paul said, "Here's how. You got to present your body as a living sacrifice. And then you've got to not be conformed to the pattern of this world, but you've got to let God renew your mind.

How do I renew my mind? I renew it with the word of God. So here's the reality is that our ways of thinking are patterns of this world when they are not in alignment with what God has said about us. We end up in these patterns of thinking.

So we end up in these patterns of insecurity. We end up in these patterns of worry. Worry turns into anxiety. Our blood pressure goes up. We have panic attacks. And it begins for a lot of us. I'm not talking there are some things I'm not against medicine. I'm not against science.

Are y'all following me? But there's some things that is because we're have old patterns of thinking and we've allowed what has been spoken over our life or words of death and not words of life, words of cursing and not words of blessing over our life to then become the pattern, the default in our life.

And so we default back to these when pressure comes on or when life is hard. We default back to these old patterns of thinking. It's people call it muscle memory, but it's not really muscle memory. It's it's when you Let me ask, you ever driven home and got there and been like, "Yeah, I don't remember the last five minutes."

You know, because you just ended up there. Why? Because here's what's literally happening. Can we go to school for a moment? >> Okay, we don't have to. I can just We go to school. Okay. Here's what's happening. And I I'm not in-d depth study on this, but I have studied this a little bit.

Is that there are things in your brain, by the way, science is finally caught up to the Apostle Paul. It's amazing when science catches up to the Bible, right? There are these things in your brain called neuropathways. Somebody described it like this. One scientist described it like this.

Your brain is like a forest and there are neurons and when they start talking to each other they create pathways through the forest and the more you do whatever you're doing the more habit you have in your life the pathway gets stronger and stronger and wider and wider and clears out more of the trees.

This is why you can drive home and not remember how you got there because you've done it so many times and the neurons have talked to each other so many times it's created a deep pathway in your brain. Are y'all following me? >> The same is true with your negative thought life.

The more you have that thought over and over and over and over and over and over again, the more you believe, I'm not enough. I'll never be enough. I can't measure up. I'm not skinny enough, smart enough, strong enough. I'm always angry. My dad was angry. My grandfather was an angry person.

I'll always live with angry outbursts. That's just the way it is in our family. The more you reinforce that neuropathway, the more that it gets stronger and stronger and then you default to that and so somebody offends you and then you blow up on the family and then you have to come back around and apologize and it's like well this cycle seems to never end.

Why? Because you never rerouted the neuropathways with the word of God because the word is alive and active and powerful and it can transform your thinking. Matter of fact, listen to this. says the dynamic nature the dynamic that means the the changeable nature of neuropathways is reflected in their ability to reorganize.

In other words, you don't have to live bound. >> You don't have to live the way that your dad did and your grandfather and your grandmama and your auntie and your uncle. You don't have to live in those same cyclical patterns in your life. What Paul calls the patterns of this world.

No. because you have this scientific thing called neuroplasticity. Some of you are like, I didn't come for science class. No, this is theology. Neuroplasticity, listen to this, enables these neuropathways to be altered and to develop new networks. In other words, you don't have to live with stinking thinking because the word of God can transform your thinking as you renew your mind.

The word of God, it is alive. It is active. It is sharper than a double-edged sword. It is powerful. And it can literally transform the way you think which will transform the way you behave. Where religion gets it wrong is that we say behave, behave, behave. But the Bible says transform your mind, your mind, your mind.

And your behavior will end up changing. And this is what God wants to do in your life. And here's where the frustration comes in is that we get to a new year or a season or a moment and we're like, I'm going to turn over a new leaf and I'm going to do better or or we have a moment in a worship night and we feel God in the moment and the presence of God and all that is real and then we go back and we get out of the service and then we wonder why we're back in old patterns of thinking because you had a wonderful moment but out of the moment you've got to have the habit. the spiritual discipline.

We don't love disciplines. You got to have the spiritual discipline to take these four steps I'm going to talk to you about today. And it will renew your mind if you'll apply these in your life. If you're with me, say amen. >> All right. Four things I want you to write down if you're the note-taking type.

If not, go ahead and write it down anyways. May help you one day. 2 Corinthians chapter 10:3, Paul writes this. He says, "For though we live in this world, we do not wage war as the world does." Now, let's time out. Paul's right here for a moment in our Bible study.

Paul is assuming we all understand we are in a battle. He says, "We don't wage war as the world does." So, he's just he's making the assumption, "We all understand that we are in a battle." And he says, "The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world."

So we don't fight with guns and bows and arrows and tanks. He said on the contrary, a matter of fact, he says just the opposite. They being the weapons we fight with have divine power to demolish strongholds. Now what's a stronghold? Well, he goes next and tells us we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.

So what is a stronghold in your life? It is it is a pretension or something that is setting itself up against the knowledge of God. In other words, it is a lie that is trying to get you to buy it as truth. Let me say that again. A stronghold is a lie that is trying to get you to buy it as truth.

And can I tell you something? No matter how much something is a lie, if you buy it as truth, it has now become reality in your life. And you will begin to live as though it's true, even though it's not true. So he says, we take we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.

And here's how we do it. We take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. We take captive every thought. Let me say it this way. You don't have to think every thought you think. Write that down. But let me say this. You do need to think about every thought you think.

Just because a thought comes through your mind doesn't mean that you have to dwell on it. Doesn't mean you have to embrace it. doesn't mean you have to take it on as your own. Just because a negative thought comes through the the screen of your mind doesn't mean that you have to embrace that.

You don't you don't have to think every thought that you think. But you should think about every thought because you need to have number one. Write this down. You need to be able to recognize first. You have to recognize Paul goes I'm going to take thought I'm going to take captive every thought and bring it in submission to Christ.

Make it obedient to Christ. What is he saying? I'm going to evaluate every thought I have and see whether this is from God or not from God. In other words, is this blessing or is this curse? Is this positive? Is this ne is this faithfilled or is this faithless?

I'm going to recognize the thoughts that I have. I'm not just going to let my mind run wild and let the enemy run wild in the playground of my mind. I refuse to do it. Which means first I've got to recognize the thoughts that I'm having that are not from God.

I've got to be able to I've got to recognize whenever the enemy is trying to sell me a lie that my life won't won't become everything God's no I've got to grab that and go I'm taking that captive. That is not of God. I've got to take captive the thought that says that God can't use me.

That I'm too far gone. That that I've done too many things and made too many mistakes for the hand of God to be. I've got to learn to take that thought captive. I've got to learn to take the thoughts captive that says you'll be lonely forever or no one's ever going to love you.

You'll not be accepted. That that if you're honest and transparent that people will reject you. I've got to take those thoughts captive. I can't let it just run wild in my mind. So, first I got to be able to recognize the lies, but I can't just stop at recognizing it.

Number two, I've got to be able to replace. It's word number two, replace. What am I going to replace it with? I'm going to replace it with truth. I love what the psalm says. Well, I've lost it. Here it is. It says, "Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers."

But listen to this. But his delight, what he loves is in the law of the Lord. And on his law, he meditates day and night. And because he does this, listen to the stability that is in his life. He's like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.

Listen to this. Whatever he does prospers. How many would like that to be the story of your life? says he meditates. That that idea of meditating is um it's the idea of of chewing on it for a while. It's not just I heard it, but I I meditate.

I want it to get so down into my soul. I want it to be absorbed into every area of my life. The word meditate really not I don't want to be gross to you, but it has the idea of chewing the cud. If you didn't grow up around farms like like I did, you may not know what chewing the cut is, but it's it's where an animal has two stomachs.

Is this too much on a Sunday morning? Has two stomachs. It eats, digests, it regurgitates, and chews some more. I know that's completely disgusting, right? But that's the that's the idea is that I'm not just going to read a verse and let it go by. No, I'm going to I'm going to chew on that verse.

What is that saying? What is God saying? What is the truth in that? How does that apply to my life and I'm not just going to do it once, but I'm going to I'm going to medit on day and night. I'm just going to let that that word permeate my life because it is not enough to re recognize the lie.

I have to replace the lie. But I have to replace it with a greater truth. >> Now I said greater truth and I want you to understand this because whenever you bought a lie, you believe it is truth. Which means you have to introduce a truth that is greater than the lie you've turned into true a truth.

Are y'all tracking with me? >> You've got to introduce a greater truth. And the greater truth is always the word of God. This is what Paul's saying in Romans 12:2. Be re be renewed. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. How do I renew my mind? Will I recognize the lies that are coming into my mind or the old patterns of thinking or the ways that that I have believed that are not accurate and do not line up with God's word?

I replace that with God's word and I then begin to let the word of God permeate my heart and my mind. And you know what will happen is these neuropathways will begin to fire new ways of thinking. And as I do that over and over, then all of a sudden it becomes my default.

So whereas once anxiety would riddle me and my heart palpitations would go through the roof, now my mind has been trained to go, "No, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. No, he has good plans for me. They're to prosper me and not to harm me, to give me a hope and a future.

And it doesn't mean that the enemy won't attack me. It's just now I have the tools and I've strengthened myself in the Lord and I'm taking on the mind of Christ that now I know how to combat the enemy so that when hell comes against me, I come at hell with the word of God and the word of God always wins.

Are y'all following me? ((applause)) I have to replace it. I can't just white knuckle stop thinking about it. Let me illustrate it to you. All of us, every campus, um, just get in your mind a beautiful pink zebra, you know, white stripes, pink body, not like girly pink, more like a manly pink, you know, just standing out in the safari in Africa.

We're all there together. It's beautiful, right? Pink zebra. You're like, "Wow, pink zebra. Never thought about that." In Africa, you're amazed. You're taking pictures. You got the iPhone out seeing the pink zebra. All right, everybody stop thinking about the pink zebra like right now. Just stop it. Just stop.

Just stop. How ridiculous is that? And that's how some of us approach the battlefield of our mind. Just stop being anxious. Really? Just stop being fearful. Stop it. stop being fearful. Well, no, it doesn't work that way. I have to capture the thought. I take it captive according to what Paul wrote in Corinthians.

But now, I've got to meditate on something that is a greater truth. So, I don't just walk around going, "Stop being fearful." No, I have to take a greater truth that says, "I haven't been given a spirit of fear, but of power and love and of a sound mind.

I have a sound mind. I don't have a mind that is riddled by fear. I have a sound mind because I haven't been given a spirit of fear. God is not the author of fear but of power and love and I have a sound mind. >> That's what I I want those I want that to be the pathway not the pattern of this world but I want my my mind to be renewed with that truth.

So I have to replace it. So here's the practical step you're going to have to have in replacing it. You're going to have to go identify the lies you easily believe. You're going to have to pen to paper. What are the lies I easily believe? Then you're going to have to go to the word of God and find what is the greater truth.

What does God say about this? And every time that lie comes up every time, you're going to go, "Nope, not today, devil." And you got to replace it with God's word. But not just replace it. Number three, you've got to recite what God says. The power is in you declaring it with your mouth.

You got to recite it. Here's what I would encourage you to do is from God's word, write one statement, one declaration that is rooted in scripture that you declare over your life whenever the lies of the enemy come in like a flood on you. We're going to practice it right now.

Okay, everybody? I want to help you practice this. I want you to We're gonna all read this together. every campus, prison campuses, gatherings, online, right there in Starbucks. Just tell people you're at church. So, let's read this together. I am blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.

If God is for me, who can be against me? I have the mind of Christ. I am chosen by God. I am holy and blameless. I am redeemed through the blood of Jesus. I have the spirit of wisdom and revelation. I am an heir of heaven. I am seated in heavenly places.

I am God's workmanship. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Say it like you believe it. I am a new creation. I am a citizen of heaven. I am rooted and grounded in love. I am more than a conqueror. I am an overcomer. I am healed. I am free.

Lord, everything you say about me is true. Amen. Amen. How would it change your life? How would it change your day if every morning you woke up and you had some declarations rooted in God's word that you declared over yourself? Listen to me. This isn't self-help. This isn't I'm a good person and everyone likes me.

I don't know if everybody likes you or not, but I know God loves you >> and I know his word is true. >> I'm not declaring I'm a nice person and I'm going to be better today. No, I'm declaring what God has said and there is power in the word of God.

Pastor, I don't feel like saying that. What does that have to do with anything we're talking about? Feelings are indicators, but they are horrible masters. >> If you put feelings in the driver's seat of your life, there's no telling what ditch you'll end up in. >> Are y'all with me? >> You can't let feelings drive your life.

You have to let the word of God drive your life. You have to let wisdom drive your life. Feelings are good indicators, but they're horrible masters, and you can't let them master your life. Whether you feel like it or not, whether it's I am, I am a child of God.

I'm a citizen of heaven. I am blessed coming in and I'm blessed going out. I have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly place. I'm not talking about making up things that you want to say, you know. I'm talking about rooted in God's word. I am driving a Mercedes.

I am living. I don't know. No, I'm not talking about don't get crazy. I'm talking about rooted in God's word. Are you following me? And you're going to create new patterns in the way that you think. And guess what? You do that consistently over time, day by day, moment by moment.

That's the journey of faith. There's great mountaintop moments, but can I tell you that's not where you live. I'm not trying to discourage you, but the reality of life is it's day by day walking with Jesus. It's moment by moment. I promise you, you apply this, you'll get to the end of this year and not recognize yourself.

And you will have victory over some areas of your life you've been wrestling with for a long time. Some of you are thinking, "There's four, pastor." You said four. My OCD will not let me complete my notes. Here's the fourth one. It's simple. Repeat. What do I repeat?

Recognizing the lie. Replacing it with truth and reciting what God has said. I'm going to recognize the lie. I'm going to replace it with truth. And I'm just going to recognize what God says. I'm going to do that. How many times? I don't know. A thousand, 10,000. Every day, maybe every hour until you get victory.

That's how long until you're winning, until you got freedom. Until No, you're no longer bound by thoughts that are not from the Lord. That's how long you're going to do it. I had a mentor in college that taught me this. I was a 19-year-old highly insecure young man.

Highly insecure. Didn't let anybody in because I was sure if someone knew the real me, they would not like me. So, insecurity caused me to live with a real facade. But thankfully, I had a mentor in my life that could see through that. and he pastored a church I was attending and he said uh one day he said, "Daniel, you got a lot of insecurities."

I was like, "Thanks for the encouragement. God bless you." It's just wonderful. [laughter] You don't really know if you have a mentor, by the way, until they cross you. How you respond is whether or not they're a mentor or not. if you're willing to submit to hard things. And he said, "Here's what I want you to do."

He didn't give it to me in this formula, but he said, "I want you to go home today and I want you to find in the scripture where God talks about your identity." And I end up in Ephesians chapter 1 that I've been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.

That I've been predestined before the foundation of the world to be conformed to the image of his son. That that's my identity. and he goes, "I want you to put a sticker on your watch." Before we had smartwatches, they were all dumb back then in the 1900s. [laughter] I got a I got a little red dot and I put it on my watch and it was my reminder to every hour on the hour check my thought life.

Every hour on the hour. And so every hour I it would hit 8 in the morning. I'd been up about an hour and I'd be in class and I would go in the last hour, did I believe a lie from the enemy and I would find one I did and then I would declare God's word.

That's a lie. This is what God says about me. And then at 9:00 I would do the same thing. And then at 10:00 I'd do the same thing. Then at 11:00 and then 12:00 and 1:00 all the way till I went to bed. And then I'd do it all over again the next day.

And I'd do it all over again the next day and the next day and the next day and then that became a month. And then after that I found myself less through the day did I need to capture those lies and less throughout that and then it became several times a day and then several times a week and several and then it became less and less and I won the battle in that area of my life.

Now does that mean the enemy doesn't still attack? No, it does not. But I know how to win the battle because I have renewed my mind. I've transformed my thinking and transformed my living. So ((music playing)) now you don't get the insecure Daniel. You get a very secure one that whether you clap or not, I'm good.

I'm not trying to live for your applause. I'm trying to live for the applause of heaven. And I'm very rooted in who God says that I am. I don't need you to tell me. I I love you. I'm grateful when you do, but I don't need it. Are you following me? >> Now, are the other things God's working on me about?

Absolutely. I'll preach on those in about five years. But this one, we got some victory on. And I don't know what it'll take for you. It may take every hour on the hour. ((music playing)) But if you'll put in the work, then you'll experience John 8:32. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.

And man, that's what I want for you this year. I want you to live in freedom in every area of your life. And I truly believe it starts with transforming your thinking. Can you receive the word of God today? >> Come on, you receive it in your heart.

((music playing)) Let's pray together with every head bowed, every eye closed across all of our locations and all of our extended family online. You know, I never like to end a time together without giving you the opportunity to give your life to Jesus, to make him the Lord and Savior of your life.

And if you've never taken that step, then I I hate to tell you, but you'll never win the battle of your mind because you don't have the power on your own. You have to have the person of the Holy Spirit. And he says he'll come in to your life when you receive Jesus, ((music playing)) when you surrender your life to him.

And the Bible says the way that we do that is that we is that we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and we believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead. That that act of faith gives us right relationship with God. And so maybe you're here today and you've never taken that step.

You've never surrendered your life to Jesus. you've never said yes to him. Or maybe there was a moment where you felt like you were walking with God, but you strayed away. Then today, I want to give you the opportunity to take that step, to make that decision. In just a moment, we're going to pray together.

There's nothing magical in the prayer. It's just me helping you express to God that you need a fresh start in him. You need a a new beginning. And I just think when you shoot your hand up in a moment that that's your step of faith. That's you saying, "God, that's me.

I need that. I want to know that I'm in right relationship with you. I want to know that heaven is my home." More importantly, I want to know that I'm walking with you every day in the here and now. And so, if that's you, I'm just going to count to three.

And when I do, I want you to shoot your hand up. You say, "God's speaking to me." And no one's going to come to you or embarrass you. I just I want to see the pastor at your campus. We'll see. And then we're going to pray together. But if that's you on three, you just shoot your hand up high and then we're going to pray together as a church.

One, two, three. You just shoot ((music playing)) it up high. God bless you. Keep it up. Keep it up. I see you. It's beautiful all over the room. Most importantly, God sees you. That's what matters. You can put your hand down. Church, will you pray this out loud together for the benefit of those who just slip their hand up?

Just say, "Jesus, I thank you for the cross. Thank you for dying for my sins. I believe you died for me. I believe God raised you from the dead. Today, I make you my Lord and Savior. Thank you for a brand new beginning. I give my life to you in Jesus name."

Everybody said, "Amen." Amen. Come on. Can we celebrate those who made that decision? >> ((music playing)) ((applause)) >> Amen. And church, I just I want us to be a church that does all of those things that we can be a church that recognizes, that we can replace, that we can recite, and then we do it again, then we repeat.

And and and here's the thing about that is all of that is incredible. And it's more it's more incredible. It's more powerful when we just don't do that by ourselves as individuals, but we do that in a group. So, that's why we're so passionate about groups here at Gateway Church.

And and we see the power of that. ((music playing)) And so, right outside these doors, you're going to see a a team of people, incredible leaders that are going to tell you all about the groups that we have here at Gateway Church. Because we were never meant to do life alone.

It's not the way that God intended us to live. He says in scripture, it wasn't good for man to be alone. And so if you're here and this message reached out to you, it spoke to you and you think, "Okay, I need some help with this." A good next step is to get in a group.

And you may say, "Matthew, I've looked at those groups. I'm not sure if there's a group for me." Then maybe that's God prompting you to lead a group. And maybe it's the exact group that somebody else in this church needs to be a part of. So right outside these doors when you're dismissed, we'd love for our leaders to come and talk to you about everything that we have to offer. get you connected because we believe in not just church in Rose but church around a circle as well.

There's so much power in that. I'm going to invite you to stand. I want our our prayer team to go ahead and come forward. If you need prayer for anything at all, if the Holy Spirit has been working with you during this message or or during worship, working on your heart, tugging on ((music playing)) your heart, our team is coming up here.

We would love to stand with you. We would love to pray with you. Maybe you feel that beating in your chest right now and you're thinking, I don't know if I want to go down there by myself. I promise you if you just asked the person to the left or to the right of you if they would come forward with you, I promise you they will.

If you accepted Jesus for the very first time or recommitted your life and you want somebody to celebrate with you, to stand with you, we would love to do that. You can go ahead and come now at the sound of my voice, we're going to go into a time of worship and I'll come back out here and dismiss.

But if you want to go ahead and come now and there's prayer teams up in the balcony as well. You don't have to make your way all the way down here. We've got an incredible team of people up there who would love to pray with you as well.

We'd love to join our faith with yours. Let's worship. >> I'm [singing and music] ((music playing)) [singing] lost without you. ((music playing)) And I ((music playing)) ((music playing)) I'm desperate for you. And I ((music playing)) and I I'm ((music playing)) lost without you. Oh Jesus. [singing] And I [singing] ((music playing)) I'm desperate for you and I ((music playing)) I'm lost without you. What a powerful time this morning, church.

Puts in a great start to 2026. Amen. >> Come on. I'm so excited about what the Lord is going to do. I'm so excited about what he's already done this ((music playing)) year and what he's going to continue to do. I want to remind you, if you've been coming to Gateway Church for a while and you are looking for ways to get connected, right outside these doors in Connect Central, we have a team of people who would love to get you connected.

And if you receive Jesus for the first time, ((music playing)) if you want to take out your phones and text the word Jesus to 710, we've got some people who would love to help you with some next steps. Uh tell you whatever you can, any questions you may have, answer any questions you may have.

If you need a Bible, we'd love to put a Bible in your ((music playing)) hand. Um and don't forget, we have our groups team out there who would love to talk with you, get you to join a group, help you lead a group, whatever it may be. Church, let me pray for you.

God, I thank you so ((music playing)) much for what you have done in our lives today. Thank you for the word that you gave Pastor Daniel to speak directly into our lives, God. God, I pray our tomorrow morning looks different because of what you have spoken ((music playing)) in our life today.

Holy Spirit, may you continue to transform ((music playing)) us, be with every single one of us. And in your holy name we pray. Amen. Amen. G Church, we love you so much. We'll see you next week. >> ((music playing))