By
much slothfulness the building decayeth; and through idleness of the hands
the house droppeth through.
Ecclesiastes 10:18
Anything that is not put to use will become disused and will soon cease to function. Even in the natural, you will discover that any building not put to use soon begins to run down. It runs down faster than a building that is fully in use.
In like manner, your mind has specific tasks that it carries out. If not put to use, it will run down. To keep it in top form, all you need do is ask yourself, “What are the fundamental functions of my mind, so I can keep it alive, and not watch it run down?”
Let me outline four major functions of the mind; your mind will be productive, if fully engaged in them.
Learning
Learning takes place in the mind. The mind is able to acquire and store information, making it available for use when it is required.
Dr. T. L. Osborn said something, which I totally agree with. He said, “When you stop learning, you start dying.” Abraham Lincoln also said, “When you stop learning, you’re old, whether at 20 or 80.”
Your age is not what determines old age. If your mind is not put to proper use, your body soon begins to age. If you keep your mind young by putting it to proper use, it will “youngen” your body. The great task before you, therefore, is to keep your mind alive, through a consistent learning process, so you don’t become outdated. Be conscious of the need to be current. Be open to learn. The largest room in the world, we are told, is the room for improvement.
There was a man called Daniel. He was the wisest man in his time. And we are told in Daniel 9:2, “I Daniel understood by books...” Even though he was the master of astrologers, magicians, Chaldeans and soothsayers, he was still a learner.
When you stop learning, you start dying! This is because people start ageing from the mind, not the body.
When your mind starts becoming outdated, your body also starts ageing. But if any man keeps learning, he remains young.
I have written some books on wisdom, but I still have plenty of books by other authors that I consult with delight, on the subject. I keep learning from them those things I didn’t know when I was writing those books. But there are people today, who since they left school, have never read one whole book. All they do is to read the conclusion and probably the introduction, and then close the book.
Anytime I get to talking about this subject of learning, the story of Anthony Robbins comes readily to my mind. In his high school days, he is reported to have read 700 books — ranging from Psychology to Philosophy and various other subjects — till he grew to become a man of solutions in his school. So much so that even his teachers began consulting him. He finished high school and became an instant celebrity. He had exercised his senses through learning! Now, he’s a consultant to IBM and Presidents of many developed countries.
You have some books, true; but they are just there, neatly arranged on your library shelf. You know the titles and authors, but you don’t know the contents! Paul was one of the wisest men in his days. Peter said of him, “...Even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you... speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood...” (2 Pet. 3:15-16).
This same Paul while instructing Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:13 said:
The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the parchments.
He was talking about his notes. This man wrote about 50% of the New Testament, yet, he was still carrying books and notes about.
Your mind will die, except you put it to work! It was God who gave Paul wisdom, but Paul had to keep his mind alive by learning. God gave Daniel wisdom, yet Daniel had to consult books in order to acquire understanding.
Knowledge
Learning culminates in knowledge. Knowledge is what you acquire in the process of learning. It is the sum or range of what has been perceived, discovered or learned. It is also the familiarity, awareness or understanding gained through experience or study.
Knowledge is acquired through the use of the mind in learning. And you know, knowledge is power. The Bible says, “... ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (Jn. 8:32). Hosea 4:6 also says:
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me...
From this we understand that knowledge is not just the art of gathering information, it is power. It has the ability to set free.
The mind is the principal tool in the learning process. For instance, there’s no way a mad person can be in a class and gain anything from what is being taught. You may force him to sit down, but you can’t force anything into him, because his mind is out of use. He may be looking at the person speaking, but he doesn’t have the ability to assimilate what is being taught. This is because his mind, which is the tool for acquiring knowledge, is out of use.
I had the privilege of visiting Reverend Kenneth E. Hagin in Tulsa Oklahoma. As we entered his office, we saw opened on his table, a new book by Dr. T. L. Osborn that he was reading.
Oswald J. Smith’s story thrills me a lot. I read from his biography that he was still consulting his dictionary at the age of 93. He is quoted as saying, “As I was going through my dictionary, I discovered there’s a major difference between faith and trust.” No wonder he lived for 96 years!
Norman Vincent Pearle was a great teacher, who taught me the power of positive thinking in 1974. You know what? He was an ordained minister for 72 years!
Friend, if you put your mind to maximum use, it will invigorate and revitalize your body. From the parable of the talent, we see that every divine deposit multiplies with use. So bring out the best in you, by putting your mind to work.
Let every businessman learn by reading biographies of successful Christian businessmen. Read, learn and gather facts from them, so that your business can come out of obscurity, into the limelight. Don’t die as a local champion, who says, “My shop is the biggest on our street”, when your street is nothing but an obscure place in an unknown area! That’s not where God wants your journey to end. The world is waiting to hear your name, so read books that will force you to think progress thoughts and to forge ahead.
I always read books of those who are several times ahead of me, so that I can see my smallness and be determined to go forward. I read everything I can lay my hands on, to see if my brain can develop yet a little more.
Wake up! Every divine deposit multiplies with use. I’d like you to pray this prayer:
“Lord Jesus, I don’t want You to regret Your rich deposits in my life. Let Your grace attend to me right now, to help me become a committed learner, a diligent student of life’s issues. I receive that grace today.”
If you can convince God that you will not waste it, God has no problem dropping His deposit in you. Learning guarantees liberty (Jn. 8:32) and exploits (Dan. 11:32).
Understanding
Understanding is another function of the mind. Paul prayed this prayer in Ephesians 1:17-18:
That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,
Understanding is a step forward in the school of knowledge. Whereas knowledge gets the information across, understanding unravels the things behind it.
There is this episode in Acts chapter 8, where Phillip asked the Ethiopian eunuch, “Understandest thou what thou readest?” (Acts 8:30). That is, “Do you know what you’re reading?”
The man replied, “Yes, I am reading from Isaiah 53.” But Phillip must have asked, “Do you know what it’s talking about?” “Yes, it’s talking about a sheep led to the slaughter that openeth not its mouth”, the Eunuch replied. “But, do you understand it?” Phillip must have asked finally. “No,” replied the Eunuch, “I don’t.”
There is, therefore, a great difference between knowledge and understanding.
Good
understanding giveth favour: but the way of transgressors is hard.
Proverbs 13:15
What good understanding does is to make you outstanding in your quest in life. Your depth of understanding determines how outstanding you become in life.
I believe that understanding results when you process knowledge with commitment. And how is knowledge processed? “Here is the knowledge. But what does it offer me?” you ask yourself. “How do I get at the benefits it carries? What is required of me to tap into the virtues of this information?” With these questions, you find your coast getting enlarged, as understanding begins to dawn on you.
It’s one thing to have a vision for instance, and another to understand the vision. It’s how much understanding of that vision you have that will subsequently determine the outstanding nature of your accomplishment.
For instance, the Bible says, “Two are better than one” (Eccl. 4:9). But for some, their condition in marriage is worse than before they got married, making them conclude that they were better off before the two of them came together.
Is God’s Word now a lie? No, God’s Word is always true. Perhaps it is the people’s application of it that is wrong. They have probably not taken time to understand what it takes to make two better than one. They lack understanding. When understanding comes in and the wisdom of correct application takes its place, then you find two actually becoming better than one.
You Have An Advantage
You have an advantage as a believer. When you’re baptized in the Holy Ghost, among other things, the Bible says that the Spirit of the Lord will make you of a quick understanding.
Knowledge is limited to what you can see, touch, smell and feel; but understanding goes beyond that. Talking about Jesus in that prophecy in Isaiah 11, the Bible says, “and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears.” That shows us where knowledge stops. It is limited to what your eyes can see and your ears hear.
Going beyond the seeing of His eyes and the hearing of His ears, the Bible talking about Jesus said that the Spirit of the Lord “shall make him of quick understanding.” Meaning He will go beyond seeing and hearing, because the Holy Spirit will grant Him unusual access into the deep things of God, making Him outstanding in His accomplishments.
When you are redeemed, you have the Holy Spirit, who has a mission to quicken your understanding and make you supernaturally smart in grasping the issues of life and the things of God.
Thank God for knowledge, but it is limited. Understanding is what helps you to tap into the benefits of knowledge. It helps you actualize all you have acquired through knowledge. For instance, some have quite some insight on the subject of divine healing, but they lack the understanding to walk in its reality. They have some form of knowledge, but they’re limited in understanding, and that limitation in turn limits their results.
Almost every Christian has some bits of knowledge of prosperity, but not everyone is walking in the reality of it. This is because their understanding on the issue is limited and thus, cannot deliver the desired result.
What is it that processes knowledge into understanding?
Meditation
When you subject knowledge to intense meditation, the end product is understanding. Let’s look at David in Psalm 119:96-100:
I
have seen an end of all perfection: but thy commandment is exceeding broad.
O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.
Thou through thy commandments hast made me wiser than mine enemies: for
they are ever with me.
I have more understanding than all my teachers: for thy testimonies are
my meditation.
I understand more than the ancients, because I keep thy precepts.
Meditation was his access to understanding. Meditation is the mental processing of knowledge into understanding. David said, “I understand more than the ancients, because I keep (ponder on) thy precepts.”
A very startling study reveals that only 5% of the human populace think! Fifteen percent think they’re thinking, while the remaining 80% would rather die than think.
Understanding does not just drop. It comes through a conscious process of meditation; that is staying mentally focused on an issue, until the nitty gritty of it are unfolded to you.
Reasoning
The third function of the mind is reasoning. God expects you to engage your mind in reasoning. That’s why He invites you in Isaiah 1:18 to “Come now, and let us reason together...”
What does it mean to reason? To reason implies to engage in rational, logical and analytical thinking. It also means good judgment; sound sense. And what is the end product? Quality decisions. Reasoning enhances the quality of decisions you make.
After God gave the invitation in verse 18, to “Come now, and let us reason together...”, He went on to say in verse 19, “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.” It, therefore, means that reasoning is required if you must gain access into your inheritance on earth.
Like I said, reasoning is engaging in logical, rational and analytical thinking. This involves looking at issues objectively, with a view to locating the right step to take; processing issues in your mind, to draw intelligent conclusions.
“Come and let us reason together...” God is in other words saying, “Don’t die in that cage. That’s not your destiny. Sit up mentally, let’s look at it together.”
In Isaiah 41:21, we again hear God say, “Produce your cause... bring forth your strong reasons...” It means God expects you to be a deep thinker, so you can bring forth strong reasons.
The Prodigal Son
There was this man in scriptures who was on his way to the end of his life. But one day he sat up and engaged his mind in reasoning. The Bible says this of him:
And
when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants of my father's
have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have
sinned against heaven, and before thee,
Luke. 15:17-18
The prodigal son reasoned his way back to a colourful destiny! He simply engaged the art of reasoning to terminate his sufferings. He probably said to himself, “Where am I? How did I get here? Do I want to be out of here? What does it take to be out of where I am and to get to where I’m going?” There’s nowhere we were told that he prayed or fasted. All he did was to reason his way back to colour and beauty.
The Church has long lost the art of thinking, and the enemy has taken advantage of this. God won’t think or plan the food you’ll eat for you. No matter how hard you pray, God won’t think for you. It’s your responsibility to think, not His. So, wake up! It’s time to effect a change in that situation.
God counts on your reasoning. Receive grace now to employ this fundamental function of the mind in your personal life.
Sit Down First
Jesus gave a parable in Luke 14:28:
For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?
Every tower builder is a tower thinker. The prodigal son sat himself down and found the answer to his problem. You need to first sit down and think it through. Reason within yourself, “This is where I’m going, how do I get there? What does it take to get there? How prepared am I to get there?”
Everything you see on the outside begins from the inside. Everything you see in the open started in the secret. It’s time to get back to the fundamentals.
When Jesus was confronted with the case of the woman caught in adultery, the Bible tells us that He stooped down and engaged in the art of reasoning. He started writing on the ground, as if He hadn’t heard them; meanwhile, He was thinking through the issue. Having thought through, He looked up and challenged them:
...He
that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.
John 8:7
What does reasoning guarantee? It guarantees a rising. No one builds a tower without first sitting down and thinking through what it takes to get it done. You need to count the cost, find out what it takes, see how prepared you are, before making a move. That is why reasoning makes you a high-flier in the race of life.
Our Ministry was commissioned on a Saturday, and the following Monday, work started in the office, and it has remained open ever since. Before we started, everything we would need to get going was in place. The structure we would use for the next 20 years was in place. We’ve been following it since then, and it’s been working. But it took 26 months of first sitting down and planning, through mental processing of our objectives and laying hold of a good understanding of what our mission statement was.
If You Can Think Enough...!
A man shared with me that when he was earning, one thousand naira, he had enough to spend. When he earned five thousand naira, he still had excess, and even when it increased to twenty thousand naira, it was still enough. I then said, “This goes to confirm my belief that what you have is enough, if only you can think well.”
This man,
a professor, built a house without an overdraft, and he’s a neat
and heaven-bound Christian, who’s not involved in any dubious business.
How did he do it? If you can think enough, what you have is enough!
When I was earning three hundred naira, I didn’t borrow, and I always
had “brought forward”. If you can think enough, what you have
is enough. You’re not a beggar because you don’t have enough,
you’re borrowing because you can’t think enough.
Have you ever sat up to consider how our old parents built houses? Most of them were peasant farmers, some never even saw one hundred naira together at a time, but they still built houses. But today, you find people who earn fifty thousand naira a month, and yet have not been able to build anything, not even a room! For them, it’s a case of the more the income, the greater the waste. He gets to the village on a visit, with his whole family, and he’s yelling, “Is my room ready?” All this because he’s not thinking.
Friend, your future is full of colour. You’re going somewhere, it’s an enviable place. So, please take steps to get there. Sit up and think your way through to the place.
Imagination
The mind is also engaged in the art of imagination. This is a very vital function of the mind, because your imagination sets the pace for your destination.
What is imagination? The American Heritage dictionary defines it as the formation of a mental image of something that is neither perceived as real nor present to the senses. It is the art of image formation. It is the image of your destination; having the image of where you’re going fully printed in your mental faculty. This is because your mental picture is what determines your future. Remember, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he...” (Prov. 23:7).
This image formation has its seat in the mind. Ideas are turned into pictures in the mind; and these pictures are what create your future.
God said to Abraham in Genesis 13:14-15:
And
the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift
up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and
southward, and eastward, and westward:
For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy
seed for ever.
Imagination is a pace-setter for your destination. As far as your eyes can see is what shall be given to you. Until you see it, God cannot give it. Your mind is your God-given asset in setting the pace for your destination. Blessed be God’s faithfulness, favour and mercies; but there is nothing we are seeing in our ministry today that I did not first see.
See the power of imagination in Genesis 11:6:
And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
Imagination is a force for accomplishment. When it is set, God is committed, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he...”
So, stop thinking death, God is not a killer! Stop thinking failure, that is not your heritage! Stop thinking stagnation, it is not your lot in God! Stop thinking lack and want because of your country’s economy! You’re not your country’s economist, so what’s your business in it? Think straight and you will live straight! Think high and you will live high! (Gen. 11:6; 13:14-15).
Cast It Down!
Most of the evils that befall people are traceable to the images they form in their minds. For instance, a man is involved in an accident, and he says, “I somehow knew it was coming.” And because he did nothing about the negative picture formed, it established a negative future for him.
Hear what 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says:
For
though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God
to the pulling down of strong holds;)
Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against
the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the
obedience of Christ;
Strongholds! These include imaginations. What are you expected to do to them? “Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself above the knowledge of Christ.”
You are expected to cast down every negative imagination and human philosophy that is contrary to the truth. Cast down every strange thought that is contrary to what you’re standing upon in Christ, every negative doctors’ report and story told you by your grandfather. And when your obedience to this rule is complete, you will go ahead to avenge all disobedience.
So when a picture of an accident flashes through your mind, you should cast it down! Don’t think it will go on it’s own. As we have seen from 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, negative imaginations are strongholds of the devil. They are able to corrupt an entire destiny and devastate a great future.
Many live under the spell of negative imaginations all their lives. Certain ailments have stayed long in many families because the devil plays around the stronghold of imagination. The man’s grandfather died of that sickness, so did his father. So he too is already expecting it at about the same age at which they had it. The picture then comes alive inside his mind, and he doesn’t cast it down. He doesn’t lay hold on the truth to destroy it, so it’s his turn to suffer the same ailment.
Friend, every positive imagination establishes a positive destination, whereas every negative imagination establishes a negative destination. Therefore, you must remain a man of determined imagination, constantly seeing what you desire, refusing to embrace what is of the devil.
I couldn’t imagine Jesus Christ involved in an accident and people bring Him out from under the car wreckage, start pouring water on Him and shouting, “Master! Master! Are you still there?” And He said, “As the Father has sent me, even so send I you” (Jn. 20:21). Since I can’t imagine Him in this condition, likewise, I can’t imagine me in such. I’ve been declaring boldly for years, “If there’s a crash somewhere, don’t look for me there, because I can’t be there.”
Again, I can’t imagine Jesus lying on a hospital bed, for instance, with all manner of gadgets attached to His hands and nose, and the pastors go there to pray for Him, saying, “Master be healed!” Since as the Father has sent Him, so He has sent me, if I can’t imagine Him in a hospital bed, then I can’t imagine myself in a hospital bed, because greater is He that is in me, than the sickness tormenting humanity in the world.
If Jesus were married, I can’t imagine Peter, James and John coming to His home to quel a fight between Him and His wife. Maybe they would say to Him, “Master, enough, enough.” As a result of this, I have long been declaring that I can’t imagine me slap my wife.
You see, your imagination is so vital in determining your ultimate destination in life, “For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Your mental picture determines your actual future. So keep your mind with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life (Prov. 4:23). You need to jealously guard your mind against every form of negative pollution. Many evils that came upon some people didn’t come straight from the devil, they came as such people gave place to the devil through careless imagination and thoughts.
Some are not married yet, but they are already bothering about whether they will have children. Meanwhile, they don’t have any medical or physiological problems! In fact, when you call out those who are looking for the fruit of the womb, they are usually the first to come out. They’re not married yet, but they’re already too sure that they’re not likely going to have children easily.
Zig Ziglar said, “The most powerful nation in the world isn’t America after all, but imagination.” That is, your imagination determines your rating in the world. For instance, a minister of the gospel will never see a big congregation until he starts imagining one. You’ll never see a big business until you have a picture of one. Your imagination sets the pace for your destination, so watch it!
If your mind is fully utilized in carrying out these functions — learning, understanding, reasoning, and imagination — then you will be set for your high place on the earth.
