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7 Steps To Be A Successful Believer

July 19, 2024 • Pastor Joe Sabolick Ph.D. • John 6:33, 1 Samuel 30:6, Hebrews 11:33, Proverbs 8:34–35, James 4:6


A wise music professor once told me that Practice does not make perfect 


It Makes Permeant 


So learn it Right~ 






The 7 Practices of A Successful Believer 


These 7 Practices in your life will keep you Strong, Protect you from the enemy, and

Catapult you to VICTORY.


This is Your Life God Gave To You! 






—What you put In your daily routine.


Will change your Life 




What you do on a daily basis will determine what you have in this life. 




Gal. 6:8 


For the one who Plants to their flesh will Harvest corruption, 




but the One who Plants to the Spirit will Harvest life and Life Everlasting




If you sow to the Spirit, you will reap a harvest of blessing.


If you’re sowing to your flesh, the results will never be what you want. 




When you sow to the spirit, you will become stronger and stronger…




You will get to a place where you confidently stand your ground, 




resist the enemy, and receive more from God




Proverbs 8:34-35 says, 


“Blessed is the Person who listens to me, watching DAILY at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. 


For whoever finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the Lord” 




In other words, 


An anointed daily practice produces glorious results.




 If you want to put an end to being 


defeated 


or 


discouraged, 


or going around the same mountain over and over—




It’s time to take your faith to a higher level. 




When you establish these


 7 Practices in your life, 




it will keep you strong, 


protect you from the enemy, 




And catapult you to VICTORY.




Practice No. 1: Feed Your Spirit


–Matthew 4:4, 


“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God”






This verse says we cannot live on just food for our body—




We need food for our spirit, too. 




A strong believer knows the reality and severity of the works of the devil 


and understands the 


Importance of developing a strong spirit to resist him…




James 4:6


But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:


“God resists the proud,


But gives grace to the humble.”




7 Therefore submit to God. 


Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 


8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you…



10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up.






How do you feed your spirit?


By soaking in God’s Word. 


Every Day.




Absorb~ 




You eat everyday~ 




Soak on a verse or on a chapter in the WORD ~ New Covenant~ 




Not mixing Law and Grace~ 




John 1:17 


For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.




Grace And Truth through JESUS! 




church every other Sunday) isn’t enough to sustain us-




We are to be alert and conscience of the WORD OF GOD! 




John 6:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. 




In the world you 


will have tribulation; 


but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”




We need daily bread to stand on top of every thing the enemy will attempt to through at us~ 


In a victory stance.




1: Feed Your Spirit




Practice No.2: 


Encourage Yourself In the LORD ~ 


–1 Samuel 30:6 “David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”




This is you life, your body and your mind~ 




David was distraught~ 


The enemies has taken the Village and pilfered their wives and children~ 


And took their valuables~ 


Israel was blaming David~ 


BUT


–1 Samuel 30:6 “David encouraged and strengthened himself in the Lord his God.”




Faith is your responsibility. 




It isn’t God’s, it isn’t mine, and it isn’t your spouse’s. 




IT’S YOUR RESPONSIBILITY 




The only one who can guarantee that you enjoy a strong faith is YOU. 




POWERFUL FAITH! 




Heb. 11:33 By faith these people overthrew kingdoms,


 ruled with justice, 


and received what God had promised them. 


They shut the mouths of lions,


 


34 quenched the flames of fire, 


and escaped death by the edge of the sword. 


Their weakness was turned to strength.


 They became strong in battle and put whole armies to flight.




 35 Women received their loved ones back again from death.






God has given you the tools you need to develop a strong faith—




The kind of faith that moves mountains, 


shuts the mouths of lions, quenches the flames of fire, 


turns weakness to strength, 


and puts whole armies to flight 






How do you build that kind of faith? 




Romans 10:17 By hearing the Word of God again and again 






Feeding your faith is the seed; 




Hearing it again and again is how you water for the seed and build faith.




-Just as with natural muscles, repetition is the key to building-




To build your faith, try implementing some of these ideas into your daily routine:




As you drive to and from work listen to messages on your New Creation App-




Sermon pod casts, 


Devotions, 


the Bible… 


PUT ON THE HEALING SCRIPTURES 


Let it speak and minister to your Spirit~ 




When you work out, 


go on a walk


, or take your lunch break, 


feed your spirit.




As you feed your spirit, remember that faith comes by hearing, 


but so does doubt. 




So, what are you listening to? 




What is the news telling you? 




What are your friends telling you? 




Guard the precious Word you’ve sown into your heart by refusing to consume anything contrary.


—————————————————




Psalm 22:28 For the kingdom is the LORD'S and He rules over the nations. 








I’ve Preached in Russia, Kiev, China, India, England, Israel~ 


Never have I once needed the first amendment to preach the Gospel! 




But as a Child Of God you have Resurrection Power!


 


You are Always Up and Exalted By Our God!


You Are Seated in High Places In Christ! 




You have Favor~ 


No matter what is going on in the World~ 




—————————————————-




When you build your faith by hearing the Word on a daily basis, truth will come, faith will come and then—


VICTORY will come




Feed Your Spirit


Encourage Yourself In the LORD ~ 






Practice No. 3: Speak the Word




–Proverbs 18:21


 “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”




You’ve heard the saying, You are what you eat.




 But the Bible says, in essence, You are what you speak 




MARK 11:23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.








Strong Believers speak the Word and only the Word over their lives and the lives of those around them. 




They know it is often a matter of life and death. 




And, they don’t intend to waste the power and authority Jesus provided for them.






To get to a place where you speak the Word over every situation, work on mastering the first two habits. 






 His Word will become your knee-jerk reaction to any situation, 




which means you will react with an automatic, predictable response—FAITH.






When a something comes your way, don’t become a bump on a log and let the devil have the final word—talk back! 




I have the RIGHT TO USE MY VOICE!~




No devil, 


No person or thing is going to shut me up! 


You get convicted By the Holy Spirit~ 


Respond in FAITH! AMEN! 




Matthew 4:1-11 When the devil tempted Jesus, He answered back 




How did He answer? 




With the Word and the Word only. 




Mark 11:24 When He came across a fig tree that didn’t produce, 




He didn’t just accept it—He talked to it 




Romans 4:17 God uses words to “call those things which be not as though they were” 






We need to do the same.




No matter what you’re faced with, 


speak healing, 


speak blessing,


 speak abundance, 


speak forgiveness, 


speak peace. 


Speak the Word again and again and again and again. 




Fire off Scripture like a machine gun. 


Confess God’s Word in faith—it will change your life.




Feed Your Spirit




Encourage Yourself In the LORD ~ 




Speak the Word






Practice No. 4: Control Your Thought Life


2 Cor. 10:5 To bring every thought into captivity begin focusing on what you’re thinking about.






Joshua 1:8 “This Book of the Word shall not depart from your mouth, 


but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. 


For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.”






Is your thought life healthy or toxic? 




The mind, spirit and body are interconnected— 


Shake off those condemning… 


Not good enough voices, 




your thoughts affect your words


, which affect your 


health,


prosperity, 


joy, 


peace


 and every other area of your life. 








 When your thoughts wander off to things like, 




you’re not going to get healed; 


you’re going to die; 


you’ll never get promoted; 




You capture thoughts like these and cast them down? 




You resist them. 


You answer them. 


Never let your thoughts go unanswered. 




Instead, say, “I’m not taking that thought.”




Answer them with the WORD~ 




You can become a master at thought domination by meditating on the Word of God.




 To meditate means you don’t just hear it—you focus on it, contemplate it 


and give it serious attention. 


Mutter the Word Over Them! 




Feed Your Spirit


Encourage Yourself In the LORD ~ 


Speak the Word


Control Your Thought Life






Practice No. 5: Anchor Your Heart Through Praise




–Psalm 34:1 “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.” –




Did you know praise is a language? 




It’s a language of faith and a language of receiving. 




A strong believer is fluent in praise. 




That’s why we’re called to bless the Lord at all times ~




No matter what is happening in our lives, we have countless reasons to thank Him for what He has done, what He is doing, and what we know 




He will do…




If praise is continually in your mouth, does that mean only when it’s good? No. 




That’s easy.




 Praise is an act of faith.




 If you believe you receive what you’ve asked—




you’ll thank God for it—even if it hasn’t manifested. 




Praise says, “I know it’s coming.”




Feed Your Spirit


Encourage Yourself In the LORD ~ 


Speak the Word


Control Your Thought Life


Anchor Your Heart Through Praise




 


Practice No. 6: Pray in the Spirit




—Jude 20 “[Build] yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit.”—


 


A strong Christian knows the importance of keeping their spiritual battery charged. 




That’s where praying in other tongues comes in. 




When you pray in the spirit, you edify yourself, which means to improve or uplift.




 It strengthens your spirit and builds you up in your faith.




The powerful part of praying in other tongues is that it allows you to pray above what you know in the natural. 




It takes you into the spiritual realm and opens the door to revelation, wisdom, instruction and encouragement.




Feed Your Spirit


Encourage Yourself In the LORD ~ 


Speak the Word


Control Your Thought Life


Anchor Your Heart Through Praise


Pray in the Spirit






 


Practice No. 7: Get Rid of Baggage




Hebrews 12:1 


“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.” –


 


Streamlining. 




Weight or WING! 




It’s a pretty important concept in aerodynamics. 




To streamline is to reduce resistance, creating a faster and smoother journey. 




It is studied by NASA engineers, airline pilots, shipbuilders and even athletes. 




The idea is to remove anything that would slow a craft, or person, down. 




The ultimate goal in streamlining is optimum performance and a victorious outcome.




That’s what we are called to do in our spiritual lives, too. 




When God told us to “strip off every weight that slows us down,” 




He was telling us to streamline our lives so we can enjoy optimum victory.




Imagine watching an Olympic runner trying to round the track and run a race wearing a suit of armor. You’d likely coach him through the TV, saying, “Throw off the armor! It’s slowing you down!”


That’s what God is saying to us.


 


What kind of baggage are you carrying today? 


Worry,


 anxiety, 


stress 


or fear?


Maybe it’s a habit of something that is destroying your health! 


Or unforgiveness that’s been festering for years. 








Take off anything that is hindering you, and run your race to victory!




When you put these 7 practices on a daily basis, 


you will develop the kind of spirit that will disable the enemy and ensure the kind of victory you’ve always dreamed of. 




This is the life Jesus died to give you. This is the life you were meant to live.




Feed Your Spirit


Encourage Yourself In the LORD 


Speak the Word


Control Your Thought Life


Anchor Your Heart Through Praise


Pray in the Spirit


Get Rid of Baggage