Most people are restrained by their own thinking. They never think any different, so they never have any different results. They are being held bondage by their mind, destroyed by what they do not know, not being transformed because their mind stays same-old rather than renew. You can call it whatever you want – but it is a restraint caused by a refusal to renew their mind.
To break free from that kind of restraint, there are three simple steps (well, simple to explain, never quite so simple to do, but always possible in Jesus’ name). The first step is HAVE A NOVEL THOUGHT. You need a new thought. You cannot renew your mind without a new thought. You need to go somewhere and hear a new thought. Maybe our leadership conference, maybe this blog, maybe a wise friend, maybe a sermon, maybe a book. But you need to get a new idea. Not an idea that fits in your mind, but a new one. Not one that comes from your tradition or culture, but a new idea. A NOVEL IDEA. A NEW THOUGHT. You need one. Nothing else changes at this moment on the outside, but this is the very first and non-negotiable step to change.
Most people novel thoughts, then reject they have had them. They are like when the seed falls on the path, gets eaten by a crow and there is no fruit. The idea went in their head but didn’t hang around long enough to make any change.
So, you need to HOLD ON TIGHT AND NOT LET GO. It can be unnerving to have a new thought, it can be disconcerting. Sometimes it can be plain terrifying. Let’s imagine you are listening to a sermon by someone who planted a church, like I was in 2008, and God spoke to me to plant a church. That was a new thought, and it was not pleasant and wonderful. I had to hold onto that thought and never let go. At times I wanted to let go of that thought, I wanted to ignore every idea that I was called to plant churches.
Finally, you – if you keep steps 1 and 2 well – will end up at the third stage HAVING WHAT YOU ARE THINKING AND NOTICING IT IN THE NATURAL. That’s where we need to be – where things happen in our life. But to get to having it in the natural, you must absolutely change your thinking first and hold onto the new thought.
Get somewhere you hear new thoughts. Hold onto those new thoughts, and watch it manifest. You cannot get a new life without new thoughts, so go looking for the new thoughts, find the godly ones and hold on tight!
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