- Well according to one study

we have about 80,000 thoughts a day,

and 90% of them we've had before.

80% of our thoughts are negative,

but we can fight those negative thoughts

with positive words.

Take a look.

- [Male] Katherine Ruonalaand her husband Tom,

are founders and senior ministers

of Glory City Churchin Brisbane, Australia.

She's also the host of her own TV show.

Over the years she has taught about

the power of the tongue

and how positive and negative words

can shape the reality around you.

In her book Speak Life,

Katherine shares practical steps

on how to deliberatelyspeak faith-filled words

over yourself, others,and your circumstances

so you can bring God'spromises into existence.

- Well welcome back to The 700 Club,

our dear friend Katherine,

it's great to have you.

- It's a delight to be here,

thank you for having me.

- All right, well letsget right to your book

where you say we can literally

shape our world with what we say.

- Well the Bible says that you and I

were created in the image of God,

who created the world with his words.

And then in first John it tells us

that as he is so are we in this world.

And Proverbs tells us that the power

of life and death is in our tongue

and that we'll eat thefruit of what we say.

So I am very vigilantabout using our words

to really speak life.

And instead of calling thingsas we see it in the natural,

grumbling and complaining,

but actually coin things like be not

as though they are.

We can partner with heavento see the creative power

of God released in our lives.

- Why do we go the other way?

Because if the psychologists,psychiatrists are right,

if 80% of what we're thinking is negative,

that has to expressitself through our mouths.

It begins with our thoughts.

And so why are weoriented to the negative?

- Well you know out

of the abundance of theheart the mouth speaks.

And what you look at is what you reflect.

You know we reflect what we are beholding.

And so that's why the Bible says

set your mind on things above.

Be deliberate to thinkon things that are pure

and lovely and have a good report.

And so we've gotta be vigilant

to realize we're actually in a war,

and we need to take captive every thought

that exults itself againstthe knowledge of Christ.

That is anything that isn't the will

of God for our lives needsto not occupy our thoughts.

We need to grab it, cast it down,

and deliberately start

thinking about what is his will?

What does he want?

Well we know the Bible sayshe wants us to walk in,

wants us to prosper and be in health,

even as our souls prosper.

So we know okay the will ofGod is that I be healthy,

so I need to start imaging myself healthy.

I remember once having stiff fingers

when I woke up in the morning,

and the enemy started to say

oh you're gonna be like your mom

who had arthritis.

And so I immediately just began to picture

my fingers as a 90-year-oldwoman playing the piano,

and declaring my joints are supple.

And so we need to be deliberateto change our thinking

and then line our words up with the truth

that God wants to release in our lives.

- I remember the light bulb going off.

I was reading some of the Dessert Fathers,

you know this third, fourth century,

they'd go off in isolation inEgypt and live in the dessert.

And it just dawned on mewhat they were wrestling with

were their own thoughts.

What are the sources of our thoughts?

- You know I really believe that

when we receive Jesus as saviorwe are delivered from us.

It's no longer we who lives,

but Christ who lives in us.

And that's why the Bible sayswe need to renew our minds

because so often we are so conditioned

to just be looking atthings in the natural.

And God wants us to have a perspective

of being seated inheavenly places with him.

And so as we recognizeno we are not victims

of our circumstances,

but that the promises

of God are invitationswaiting for our response.

We can change the way we think

and be deliberate to go nodevil I'm not going there,

I'm not gonna think about that.

I'm gonna put my mind onwhat the will of God is.

So for example, I hearda testimony from a lady

who had been through a divorce

and she was hearing thismessage about speaking life,

and she realized that night,

she just got so convicted.

She realized, she said

I think I destroyed mymarriage with my words.

Her husband had lost a whole lot of money

and she told him you're terrible,

you make terrible decisions,

how could you do this to our family?

You're such a fool.

So instead she went back to him

and said I just want to apologize,

I've done the wrong thing.

I realized at that time Ishould have been speaking life,

saying you have the powerto make great decisions,

you're a good decision maker.

You know as she startedto change her thinking

and change her words,

they started dating,

and their marriage is back on track.

You know it has so much power.

I hear people talk about their children,

oh my kids are lazy or ohthey're not doing very well,

they're not very intelligent.

You know you might be thinking that

because you're looking at circumstances,

but if instead you grab ahold

of the will of God that sayswe have the mind of Christ,

we should be speaking over our children

by saying my children love God,

they have wonderful characters,

they're bright, they're intelligent.

And it's not denying a reality,

it's actually making way for the will

and the purpose of God to bemanifested in their lives.

- What do you say to the critics

who would say you're justtalking mind over matter.

How does this work?

- Well you know there area lot of secular books

that use this principle becausethere is power in our words.

It is a biblical principle.

But the difference, I believe,

is that we're not justapplying a principle,

we're connecting with God,

who wants us to intimately know

and have faith in mindthat isn't a concept,

but is a reality.

And in knowing him we can have confidence.

I know this is what God wants for my life.

I know these are thedesires of God for my life,

so I'm gonna line my words upwith what heaven is saying.

The Bible says thatJesus and the Holy Spirit

are interceding for uscontinually in heaven

according to the perfectwill of the Father.

And you know I just imagine,

like to imagine what that might look like.

I don't think they're up in heaven begging

the Father to do something,

they're all one and in perfect harmony.

And so I imagine they'retalking about the plans

that they've got for my life

and what they wanna see.

Isn't it wonderful we'replanning these good things,

these good works we're here to do,

but their yes in heavenrequires my amen on Earth.

So the promises of God are invitations,

not necessarily inevitabilities.

As we begin to recognizewhat are you saying Lord?

You wanna see me lay hands on the sick,

it's in the Bible.

These signs shall follow.

Those who believe.

They lay hands on thesick and they recover.

So that's the invitation.

My response needs to be calling things

that be not as though they are.

So I start to say I lay hands on the sick

and they recover.

I see people get out oftheir wheelchairs and walk.

And you know what, we are now.

It is so exciting as we'reseeing the purposes of God

actually manifestingon Earth as we simply,

in a child-like way, come into agreement

with our words with what God is

wanting to see happen for us.

- I like to tell peopleit's not mind over matter

it's God over matter.

- Absolutely.

- He spoke it into being

and he can speak anything into being.

And I love what you said,

all we have to do is amen him.

All we have to do is say yesdaddy I'll go along with that,

and I believe you can do that.

You are the God of the impossible.

With you all things are possible.

Lets just hold that.

And with that you can move mountains.

- That's the truth.

He said light be and there was light.

And in the same way we need to be careful.

We like to play a game,

we go around a circle calling things

that be not as though they are.

And making declarations.

I was doing it this morningas we were getting ready

to come on here with the ladythat was doing my makeup,

and we were making declarations.

I'd say things like

all of my children aremarried to Godly spouses.

And she'd say my brotheris walking with Jesus.

And I'd declare my brotheris loving Jesus too.

And actually saying it asthough it already is a reality

is lining ourselves upwith what God's like.

In the book of Romans it says God

calls those things thatbe not as though they are.

I think we should play a game, Gordon.

- Okay.

- I'll go,

I'll go first.

I get better at this all the time.

- All my children aremarried to Godly spouse,

beat you to it.

- (laughing)

Very good.

All my children love Jesus more than I do.

- I'm going to hold mygrandchildren in my arms.

- All of my grandchildrenand my great grandchildren

will love God and follow him.

I get healthier every day.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

- Your turn.

- My turn?

I get smarter every day.

- (laughing)

That's a good one.

I actually say that,

I get more intelligent every day.

I have wisdom from heaven.

God gives me wisdom and I walk in wisdom

and I make wise choices.

- I'm going to see the future today.

- Oh hallelujah.

And people who come incontact with me today

are going to experiencethe kindness of Jesus.

- Amen.

All right.

Well Katherine's book is called Speak Life

Creating Your World With Your Words,

and you can get thatwherever books are sold.

You can play that game too.

And if you wanna see her live,

she's gonna be at Rock Church

right here in Virginia Beachtomorrow night, seven p.m.