TIM LOST HIS JOB

TRANSFORMATION…HOW?

TAKE YOUR THOUGHTS CAPTIVE

A CALL TO ACTION

We are all called to “make disciples” (Matthew 28:19).  Most of us think about making disciples as taking someone to a bible study or church or, better yet, telling someone what to do or what NOT to do…which seems to backfire more times than not.  I’ve spent over a decade trying to answer the “HOW?” to the command “Go and make disciples.” Over the next few weeks we are going to specifically answer the HOW in a way that not only gives you tools for your life transformation, but also allows you to jump in and breathe life into others.  When we are finished with this series you will have more tools to meet with people one-on-one or with small groups in a way that will facilitate spiritual growth and Truth discovery toward fulfilling the Great Commission.

TRANSFORMATION…HOW?

 Tim called last week for a lunch meeting.  “Derek, I really like your newsletters.  They are very practical; they hit me between the eyes and apply directly to my everyday life, but…”

“But what?” I smiled.

“Well, I’m kind of uncomfortable even asking because I don’t want to offend you…”

“Ok, Tim, let me explain something about me.  Criticism is the fuel that runs the engine of my life!  My problem isn’t that people criticize me; my problem is that people are too nice.  I define nice as ‘not saying what’s really on your mind because you are afraid someone might not like you anymore.’  I don’t ever remember Jesus being nice.”

“Ok, I admit, I’m a nice guy,” he laughed.

“Sorry to hear that,” I chuckled, “Let ‘er rip my friend!”

“Alright, again, I love your newsletters but I want to know EXACTLY how MY life is transformed.  I hear all these stories about other people but what can I do?  What’s my part?”

“Tim, I don’t think you really want to know the answer to that question.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have talked with thousands of people about life transformation and most of them just think they want transformation.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You see, most people think they want their depression, manipulation, anger, lust, anxiety, etc. to go away but they really don’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because they are getting something out of it…they like the results of these emotions.”

“Are you kidding me?  That sounds crazy?”

“Let’s think about it for a minute.  Imagine a dad named Robert was brought up in a strict militaristic home.  Now he runs his household the same way.  He uses angry outbursts to get his wife and kids to do what he wants them to do (that’s how he was taught and it’s working for him).  He likes the results.  He has total control over his kids and wife.  He likes getting what he wants when he wants it.”

“So you are saying that Robert ‘says’ he wants to change but he really doesn’t because he likes what his anger is giving him.”

“Absolutely.  His anger is working for him…at least for a while.”

“For a while?”

“Yeah, right now life is working for him.  It’s a very deceptive game the Enemy plays with us because we ‘think’ everything is going just fine.  But eventually his children will rebel or his wife will resent him and file for divorce or, in extreme cases, he’ll get arrested for domestic violence.”

“Then he’ll be ready for transformation.”

“Exactly.”

“Ok, I get it, but let’s say I’m ready,” Tim replied, “Now what?”

NOW WHAT?

“The easiest way to start is to attack a specific situation you are dealing with…a challenging circumstance that you are in the middle of or are facing.”

“That’s easy,” Tim said with a smile, “I’ve got plenty of those to pull from.”

“Ok, what’s going on?”

“Like many people in the current economic environment I lost my job last week.”

“Tim, I’m so sorry to hear that. Losing a job can be very challenging.”

“Absolutely.  It’s been very difficult…so actually, I’m ready to get on with the next stepJ!”

“No problem.  Write That Down.”

“Write what down?”

“Write your challenging circumstance down on a piece of paper.”

“Why?”

“Because you can’t do this in your head.”

“You can’t?”

“Nope, you have to write it down.”

“Ok…done.  Here is what I wrote:  ‘Last week I lost my job.’”

“Perfect.”

“Now what?”

“The next part is easy too.  You simply identify the emotions are you experiencing because of the challenge.”

“My emotions?”

“Yep.”

“You said this was easy but I don’t usually think about what I’m feeling…don’t you have a list or something?”

“Yeah, no problem.  We affectionately call it the ‘Lives Transforming Worksheet.”

“Yeah, this makes it much easier.  I got a lot of these things going on!  I just need to circle them or highlight them, huh?”

“Yep that’s it.”

“Ok, here’s what it looks like.”

“Why are we doing this?” Tim asked.

“This is how we take our spiritual temperature.  We know that the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) is joy, peace, patience, etc. so we also know that when we are experiencing the opposite of this fruit--these types of unhealthy emotions--something is awry.  It is important to recognize these emotions because it gives a starting place to help us assess our healthiness… just like a thermometer does in the doctor’s office.

“Ok, I get it.  But isn’t that what psychologists do? They sit around and talk about your feelings for hours, months and years!  Then they try to figure out where all these emotions came from.  That stuff has never helped me much.”

“Yes, that is what some psychologists do, but that’s not what we are doing.  No matter how much you discuss your feelings those discussions are not going to transform your life.  We know that transformation occurs when we “renew our minds” (Romans 12:2) NOT when we talk about our feelings.”

“Ok, so what’s next?”

WHAT’S NEXT?

“Every emotion we feel is the result of a thought we are thinking.  So once you identify the unhealthy emotion(s) then you write down the thought or thoughts that you are thinking that are causing you to feel anxious, rejected, embarrassed & discouraged or whatever.”

“Ok, I got it.”

“Got what?”

“I got the thoughts?”

“Oh, no it doesn’t work like that!”

“What do you mean?”

“You can’t get the thoughts in your head and think you’ve ‘got it’.  You must take each of those thoughts captive (2 Corinthians 10:5).”

“What do you mean?  Write them down?”

“Yep, that’s taking them captive!  Use the Lives Transforming Worksheet and write them down…simple as that.”

“Ok, got it.”

“How did I do?”

“Tim, you did great!  That’s very good.”

“Now I need you to do one more thing with these thoughts?”

“What’s that?”

“I want you to pick one of the thoughts, write it down and then tell me how much you BELIEVE the thought is true?”

“Well, if it weren’t true I wouldn’t have written it down.”

“Ok, that’s fine.  Just put how much you believe the thoughts on the right hand side.”

“Ok, no problem.”

“How’s that?”

“Again, that’s exactly right!”

“Awesome.  What’s next?”

“First, let me ask you something.  Where do you think these thoughts are coming from?”

“I don’t know what you mean?”

“Is God putting these thoughts in your head?”

“I’m not sure about that, but I am sure the feelings I highlighted are not part of the Fruit of the Spirit so I guess they can’t be from God.”

“What about you? Are you the one who is putting these thoughts in your head?  Are you trying to make yourself think these things that are making you feel bad?”

“No, not necessarily.  But I can’t seem to get rid of them…oh, I see now.  They are coming from the Enemy, just like in that C.S. Lewis book, The Screwtape Letters.  I remember reading that in college,” Tim laughed at the revelation.

“Exactly.  And the Enemy is the Father of…”

“Lies (John 8:44),” Tim replied finishing off the revelatory moment in his head.  “That means those thoughts I’m thinking can’t be 100% true…but wow, they certainly feel true!”

“That’s true Tim…these thoughts can feel VERY true.”

“So now what?”

“Now we get to untwist the thoughts the Enemy is throwing at you.”

“Ok, how do we do that?”

“I’ll show you exactly how that works…soon.”

Thinking about it,

Derek

P.S.  As always I want to thank all the people involved in the Lives Transforming newsletters and message.  For those of you that don’t know, the stories that are told are ALL based on real life, true stories of Lives Transforming!