The second area that we need to deal with, is areas of grief, where there's been a grief, a disappointment, a loss. It could be a death of someone close to us, a loss of some kind of business, unexpected tragedy, a marriage or family break up, but the grief of it. I was just talking with someone last Sunday, and I was very sad to hear that their marriage had broken up, that I could have helped them. They didn't need to break up. The problem was this, that there was grief, and I pointed out to them about a year ago what I saw was a problem that was developing. They stood up to address it, and then the grief, they turned on one another. What a tragedy, so if we don't deal with the grief in our heart and release them, and let them go, and grieve over them, and move on, we just stay angry, and no amount of positive confession, or faith confession will shift it.
We do have to address the issues of the heart, so there's relationships, grief; bitter judgements are where we judge, or make a judgement about someone, based on a bitter feeling. Now those kinds of things lock us in to things, and there's an emotional power inside, and demons get in around - it's hard to shift it. It doesn't shift easily. It's much easier if you do what God says. You know what He says, if someone hurt you? He just says forgive them - so easy if you do it. My way is, I want to stay angry at them. God says, I've got a better way, it's a higher way, just forgive them, and let them go, and move on. Oh, that's not fair. Well that's your way of thinking. God says no, I know it's not fair, but nevertheless just let it go, it'll empower you to move on. Okay then, so let's just talk then about some of the steps that you can - so there's the first thing are relationships. The second group are the area of words, words we've come into agreement with.
I remember praying for one lady one day, and as I went to pray for her, these words came up into my mind: no one ever wanted me. I suddenly heard these words come into my mind, and I realised the word of God was showing me, this is what controlled this woman. She had come to believe years ago when she was a little girl, had gone through a conflict in her home, no one ever wanted me. So she lived her life out of that belief, and I just prayed for her. I didn't even ask her about it. I laid hands on her, broke the power of those words that said no one ever wanted me, and spoke the truth, and she just broke down and wept and wept and wept.
There was a tremendous freedom came to her life. I said now the power of that thing you've come into agreement with is broken, now you need to begin to face the issues of forgiveness, and then change how you think - no longer agree with it. You are of value. God loves you. God values you. God wants to work with you, see? Okay then, so beliefs and mindsets, so these are the things that need to change.
Now I want to share with you, is just a couple of simple keys on how to shift them. How can I shift what's going on? How can I use God's word to shift the things, just remembering that God's words have a power of spirit life. Jesus said, the words I speak are spirit in their life. Number two, that God's thoughts always are higher than ours, so initially we may find ourselves reacting to what God says, but what I want to show you is just some simple steps. I know they work. I've worked them myself, and they change the whole way I view life and they change particularly the way I viewed myself, and then my capacity to receive from God. I want to just give them to you very, very simply. Take a note of them, and if you can't get a note, get the CD or get something like that, but just put these things to work.
The first thing was - and it goes almost without saying - is I need a personal relationship with Jesus Christ for this reason. The Bible tells us, when we're born in this world, we're born without God, so we've got to try and get along on our own, do it our own way. So when we come to a place of faith in relationship with God, we open ourselves to His help. We open ourselves to His grace, we open ourselves to His power being able to touch us. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6:17 if you are joined to the Lord, you are one spirit. There's a oneness of connection, so that means you now have the ability to draw on the life of the Holy Spirit. Okay, so this is the first thing, the first step to a significant change in your inner world is to actually respond to God's love, God's gift to you. He loves you and values you. The first thing is to agree with that, and become connected with Him.