Bold As A Lion Part 4: The Mentality Of A Lion by Dr. Paul Enenche: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The Mentality of the Lion

Proverbs 30:30 — "A lion which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away for any." The lion rules not by size, not necessarily by size, but by sense. What makes a lion so authoritative, so in charge? All the characteristics of the lion that have been examined stem from one thing — a mindset. The mindset of the lion is responsible for every characteristic of the lion that we see.

How the Mindset Works — Seven Scriptures

1. Proverbs 23:7

Proverbs 23:7 — "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he." What we think in our heart determines what and who we become. What you think about yourself, what you think about your surroundings, what you think about the people around you, is a determinant of your outcome in life. If you think you are small, you are small. If you think you are big, you are big.

Your mindset determines your outset. It determines what you say, what you do, how you behave, how you live, how you exist. The lion understands himself to be the king of the forest, the king of all the creatures, and he carries himself as such. When he is walking and any other animal is coming in his direction, he does not shift — he maintains his lane and continues to walk.

When a pastor is telling a church member, "Bring me food, bring me a new shirt, bring me profit offering," that pastor sees himself lower than the person. He has turned himself into a beggar. When you do not understand who you are in Christ, your mindset is not set to where Christ has placed you in life and destiny.

2. Proverbs 21:5

Proverbs 21:5 — "The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness." A man who thinks diligently and acts diligently is a person whose natural outcome is plenty. Joseph, even while in prison in Egypt, maintained the mindset that one day he would rule. When they called him to see Pharaoh, he dressed himself in royal apparel — he had kept it in prison because he entered with the mindset that one day he would be called out as royalty. That is mindset.

When the king asked for his interpretation and counsel, Pharaoh said: "Who else is able to do it except you?" The mindset Joseph entered that prison with determined the result of his conversation with the king.

3. Proverbs 16:23

Proverbs 16:23 — "The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth and addeth learning to his lips." Your mindset determines what comes out of your mouth. Your mindset determines what you do. Your mindset teaches you your utterances, your conduct in life and in destiny.

4. Mark 7:21

Mark 7:21 — "For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts." Out of the mind, out of the heart, proceed the thoughts — whether they are evil or they are good. The thoughts inside of you determine the outcome of your character. Your mindset determines where you can go and where you cannot go. Your mindset determines what you can do or what you cannot do.

A man of God was invited to meet another leader at a pool bar. He said: "I cannot sit there to have a meeting with you with people swimming in bikinis and drinking alcohol. If there is no other venue, we cannot have the meeting." Your mindset determines what you can and cannot do.

A brother in this congregation discovered his neighbor was deep into occult practices. He stood by the man's window and began to pray aggressively and loudly in tongues. Within days the occult practitioner became crippled, sent for his belongings, and left the area. The brother said: "I cannot be a child of God living in this environment and allow an occultic person to determine the atmosphere around me." The higher power is superior to the lower power. The lower power must bow.

5. Luke 6:45

Luke 6:45 — "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh." What is resident inside of you determines what comes out of you.

6. Proverbs 16:3

Proverbs 16:3 — "Commit thy works unto the Lord and thy thoughts shall be established." Your thoughts can be established and your works can be blessed by the quality of what your mind carries.

7. Ephesians 3:20

Ephesians 3:20 — "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." Your thoughts weigh equal to your words. Your thoughts weigh equal to your prayer. What you are thinking gets answered as fast as what you open your mouth to ask God for in the place of prayer.

You cannot be praying "God bless me, bless my family" while in your mind thinking the opposite. Your thoughts must align with what you are saying. What you think weighs as much as what you are praying. Watch what you think so that you will get the right results according to the power of God that works in us.

The Need for a Mental Reset

If we must truly leave as men and women with the lionic mindset, we need to come to a point of a mental reset — a factory reset. Like a gadget that needs to be reconfigured, many of us are going to have to do some mental reconfiguration, an update, an upgrade.

• Key 1 — The Word of God: Psalm 119:11 — "Thy word have I hid in my heart." Thy word have I hid in my heart that I might acquire the lionic mentality. 2 Timothy 2:15 — "Study to show yourself approved unto God, a workman that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." The word you study and put inside you prevents you from the shame of a poverty mindset, an inferiority complex. Your personal study determines the outcome of your life. Colossians 3:16 — "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly." Every Christian should have a personal Bible study schedule. As the word sinks deep into you, out of the abundance of the heart the reserves come out at the appointed time.
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Dr. Paul Enenche
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• Key 2 — The Spirit of God: John 6:63 — "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing." 2 Corinthians 3:6 — "The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." When you are praying in the Holy Ghost, you are rubbing minds with the Spirit of God. You begin to think like the Lord thinks, and your mindset becomes renovated. John 3:6 — "That which is born of the Spirit is spirit." If we are born in the image of Christ who is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and that Spirit rests in us, then we are born of that same Spirit that raised up Jesus from the dead.
• Key 3 — Right Association: Right company determines where we are. There are associations that can negatively affect you. When God's servant had the vision for a 100,000-seat sanctuary, those with the wrong mindset would have said, "How can you do that?" Those kinds of conversations and associations negatively affect you.
• Key 4 — Your Faith: 2 Corinthians 4:13 — "We have the same spirit of faith. According as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe and therefore speak." It is what is in your mind, your mindset, that determines what you say and what you act. Your belief determines your outcome.
• Key 5 — Righteous Living: Romans 8:2 — "The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death." Sin has corrupted the minds of many. Sometimes you see people in governance taking wrong steps — sin corrupted their thinking. Let your life be devoid of sin.
• Key 6 — Divine Presence: Psalm 91:1 — "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." Your mindset is renewed by the presence of God. Be a divine presence carrier. How do you cultivate that presence? By worship, praise, prayer, and intercession. Colossians 3:16 — "Singing with grace in your hearts unto the Lord." Making worship a daily part of your life invites the presence of God.
• Key 7 — Right Spiritual Cover: Who covers you determines what you can overcome, what your mind can accommodate. 2 Chronicles 20:20 — "Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established. Believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper." When the right prophet is overseeing your life and you believe him, you prosper.

The Lion Rules by Sense, Not by Size

The hippopotamus is bigger than the lion. The elephant is bigger than the lion. But the lion is their king — because of its sense. It told itself, "I am the king." That is what the Bible says: as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.

Not "as he is, so he thinketh" — which is how many people live, keeping themselves trapped at the same level. The Bible says as he thinketh, so is he. Let your thinking precede your reality. Let your mentality activate your reality. Do not let your reality influence your mentality.

The Israelites said, "We are grasshoppers in our own sight" — and so they were in the sight of the enemy. The enemy sees you the way you see yourself. To leave as lions, you must think lion thoughts, kingly thoughts, royal thoughts, thoughts of authority, not inferiority. There must be a mentality adjustment — reflected in the way you think, the way you look, the way you move. There must be confidence in your stride.

Until mentality is renovated, destiny is never upgraded.

Romans 12:2 — "Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Nobody can look down on you without your permission. They need your permission and your cooperation to make you feel low about yourself. If they don't have your permission and cooperation, they are wasting their time.

The Lion's Strategic Qualities — Points 10 and 11

Quality 10 — Lions Are Highly Strategic and Calculative

Psalm 10:9 — "He lieth in wait secretly as a lion in his den." Psalm 17:12 — "Like a young lion lurking in secret places." The lion calculates. The lion orchestrates. At times he sets an ambush — hiding in the bush, waiting for the prey, then suddenly pouncing.

• Nothing is successful until someone is strategic.
• Nothing is dynamic until someone is strategic.
• To be triumphant and victorious, you must be strategic.

Wars are fought with weapons, but they are won with wisdom. Many powerful children of God are not getting results not for lack of power, but for lack of strategy, lack of wisdom — losing ground, losing territories because of the lack of wisdom.

1. Wisdom wins battles. The lion knew exactly where to hold — the jugular vein. One lion goes for the jugular of the prey while the others hold it down. He did not win by size. He knew the right place to hold. It is time to ask God: "This battle in this area of my life — what is the wisdom needed to win it?"
2. Wisdom terminates struggles and brings success. Any area where you seem to be struggling, there is a wisdom lacking there. Where there is struggle, strategy is lacking. Ecclesiastes 10:10 — "If the iron is blunt and he does not sharpen the edge, he will need more strength." But wisdom is profitable to direct. Financial struggle is an outcome of lack of financial wisdom. Ministry struggle is a product of lack of ministry wisdom. Marital struggle is a product of lack of marital wisdom.
3. Wisdom brings increase and multiplication. John 6:6 — "This he said to prove him, for he himself knew what he would do." Five loaves and two fishes multiplied because He knew what to do. Most miracles will never happen until wisdom is in place.
4. Wisdom brings peace and rest. Proverbs 3:17 — "Her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace." Everything that puts your life under tension is not wisdom. Life under pressure is proof of wisdom bankruptcy. A wise man is known by the peacefulness and restfulness of his life.

Three dimensions of wisdom:

• Wisdom is connecting to the mind of God on issues of life — Isaiah 55:8–9: "My ways are not your ways, saith the Lord."
• Wisdom is applied insight from the word of God. Matthew 7:24 — "He that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them, I will liken unto a wise man." You are not looking for revelation to quote; you are looking for revelation to apply.
• Wisdom is the involvement of thought with effort — thinking deeply and acting smartly. Many are working hard but not working smart. When effort alone is at work, it is hard work. Thought combined with effort is what makes smart work.
• Wisdom is choosing the best course of action within a given set of options. Until you can enumerate and outline your options, you cannot walk strategically.

Quality 11 — Lions Move Swiftly with Speed

Lions are sprinters. They know they must run very fast because they lack endurance for long distances. So they have a high sense of urgency — they must run fast now and get results before they get tired.

• Speed is needed for the realization of life's vision. Habakkuk 2:2 — "Write the vision on tables that he may run that readeth it." The vision is for an appointed time.
• Speed is needed to fulfill our life assignment within our time allotment. Life assignment has a time allotment. We do not have eternity to fulfill destiny.
• Speed is needed to cover vast grounds in a short time.
• Speed is needed to get results while we still have energy. The old lion perishes for lack of prey — Job 4:11.
• Speed is needed to execute divine instructions in a timely manner. Genesis 12:1, 4 — when God spoke to Abraham, there was no gap before Abraham departed. Genesis 22:3 — God spoke to Abraham in the evening to offer Isaac, and Abraham rose up early the next morning. He was not calculating days. God does not continue to give instructions to people who delay in implementation.
• Speed is needed to confront and collapse enemy agenda. 1 Samuel 17:48 — "David hasted and ran toward the army."

Many visions are perishing because the vision bearer is not a runner. Many Goliaths are still standing because those who will move with speed are few. Many battles are standing because movers are few.

Father, I ask that you will touch my mind by your spirit to function with soundness and boldness. 2 Timothy 1:7 — for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind. In the name of Jesus, every spirit of procrastination, every spirit of delay, I command them to die right now. I refuse every trace of sluggishness, every trace of slackness, every trace of delay. I am moving aggressively with speed to confront and collapse the devil and his agents in Jesus' name.