CHRISTIANS—THERMOMETERS

1

AND THERMOSTATS

There is an event recorded in John

chapter 5:2-8 that reminds me of myself

many years ago when I majored on

problems instead of answers.

When Jesus asked the impotent man

at the pool of Bethesda, “Wilt thou be

made whole?” the man told him the

reason he could not be made whole.

Jesus ignored the man’s reasoning and

commanded him to “... Rise... and

walk.”

Even though God’s Word can

change situations in your life, so many

seem to be set on talking the problem.

You will notice that Jesus didn’t

mention the problem, but He asked the

crippled man to do something he

couldn’t do within himself. When the

man obeyed, he received his miracle.

I have come to the conclusion that

there are two kinds of Christians. There

are Christians who act like

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Christians—Thermometers and Thermostats

thermometers. They rehearse the

problem over and over, but never do

anything to change it. Then there are

some who function as thermostats and

change things for the better. The

thermostat on the wall of your home is

wired to the heart of that unit which is

designed to control the temperature in

your house. That thermostat has a built-

in thermometer to reveal the present

condition (temperature) and a dial to

make the desired change. When you

change the dial setting, it makes a

demand on the heating and cooling unit.

The thermometer only tells you how it

is. But by setting the thermostat to what

you desire, you can change present

facts.

God never intended for us to

become Thermometer Christians and

keep rehearsing things as they are. Even

though it is a fact—if it’s not lovely and

of a good report—don’t spend your time

talking about it. Faith cometh by

hearing. Always give preeminence to

the Word of God regardless of the

present facts or circumstances, “... faith

is the substance of things hoped for, the

evidence of things not seen.” (Hebrews

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Christians—Thermometers and Thermostats

11:1)

BIBLE FAITH

Bible faith comes from the Bible,

and it is evidence of the things that are

not yet manifest in the natural realm.

But what some people call faith is not

Bible faith at all. It’s high expectations

based on wrong information.

You may have heard someone

interpret Mark 11:23 as: “All you have

to do is say it to receive the promise.”

Saying is part of applying the principle

of faith, but there is more to it than just

saying it. You must believe and doubt

not in your heart. Then you must believe

that those things you are saying will

come to pass. Faith is not just a quick

fix for your problems.

Sometimes it takes weeks or even

months to get your mind renewed to

God’s Word and to get rid of years of

unbelief.

DEVELOP FAITH

Yes, Jesus did say, “... he shall

have whatsoever he saith...” That

statement is in the Bible. But we must

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Christians—Thermometers and Thermostats

take it in context of which it was

spoken.

For verily I say unto you, That

whosoever shall say unto this

mountain, Be thou removed, and be

thou cast into the sea; and shall

not doubt in his heart, but shall

believe that those things which he

saith shall come to pass; he shall

have whatsoever he saith. (Mark

11:23)

Notice Jesus said, “... whosoever

shall... not doubt in his heart, but shall

believe...” This implies that you must

also believe in your heart, because faith

works in the heart not the head. The

whosoever Jesus referred to in this

Scripture said with his mouth what he

already believed in his heart. And Jesus

said, “... he shall have whatsoever he

saith.” Notice that he didn’t have it

when he said it, but he called it in faith

that he would have it.

The problem is that some people

have high expectations based on what

happened when someone else was

operating in faith. Without faith in the

heart, which comes from the promises

of God, they are thermometers trying to

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Christians—Thermometers and Thermostats

get the results of a thermostat. There is

no connection between the words of

their mouth and their heart which is

designed to produce results. (Matthew

12:35)

Someone who hears a testimony

such as: “I gave my old car to a

missionary, and someone gave me a

new one.” Someone else may get

excited and say, “Glory to God, I’m

going to give my old clunker away.” If

they do that based on the experience of

others, they are probably going to walk

for several months. Sometimes people

are motivated by the experience of

others and greed rather than the desire

to help someone in need. Bible faith is

based on God’s Word.

High expectations based on wrong

information will fail to produce desired

results. True Bible faith in the heart will

always produce what the Word

promises.

Some people say, “Well, if they can

do a certain thing I can do it, too.” That

statement is often based on wrong

information. If you saw a pilot of a 747

get out of the cockpit, would you say

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Christians—Thermometers and Thermostats

—“If he can fly that airplane, I can,

too”? That would be wrong thinking

even though you possibly could fly that

plane after several years of training.

You have probably heard someone

say: “If God did a miracle for them, He

will do it for me.” But my questions are,

“Do you know what that particular

person knew?” Are you fully persuaded

from God’s Word? Is your faith based

on the promise of God or someone

else’s miracle?”

Yes, it’s true that God’s Word has

the ability resident in it to cause the

promise to come to pass in your life.

But first, there must be a time of

renewing the mind and confessing

God’s Word until you become fully

persuaded that He will perform His

Word. There must be a time of gaining

information and understanding the

principles involved. Then you can make

a demand on the promises of God and

get the desired results.

A thermometer will always tell how

it is at a particular instant. Yet, it

changes with every breeze that blows.

But it gives no information as to how to

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Christians—Thermometers and Thermostats

change what is already present.

A thermostat has two functions. It

has a built-in thermometer to reveal the

problem for reference only. The

thermostat is connected to the heart of

the unit which is designed to change the

present condition. When the dial is set

to the desired results, it makes a demand

on the unit which produces exactly what

the thermostat calls for. A thermostat

doesn’t deny what exists at the present,

but rather concentrates on changing it.

When it comes to faith, your head is

basically a goal-setter. Your head

determines what you say. Then what

you say with your mouth determines

what you believe in your heart. (Romans

10:8, 17) What you hear produces faith

either in the problem or the answer.

The Apostle Paul said, “Let no

corrupt communication proceed out of

your mouth, but that which is good to

the use of edifying, that it may minister

grace unto the hearers.” (Ephesians

4:29) You and God hear everything you

say. So we shouldn’t spend our time

talking the problem. To change the

things which exist, we must set the goal-

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Christians—Thermometers and Thermostats

setter on the thermostat to a different

setting. The words you speak are the

determining factor of what you believe.

And they are setting the thermostat of

your life daily.

You may ask: “What must I do

concerning my situation?” First, go to

God’s Word and find what God said

about your situation. Paul gives us some

good Scriptural advice in Romans 12:2:

“... be not conformed to this world: but

be ye transformed by the renewing of

your mind, that ye may prove what is

that good, and acceptable, and perfect,

will of God.”

Adjust your thermostat so that it is

in agreement with God’s Word. Then

you will see your situation the way God

sees it. The faith that comes from God’s

Word will cause you to see through the

storm. You can then concentrate on the

end results rather than the problems.

God’s Word confirms this truth: “This

book of the law shall not depart out of

thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate

therein day and night, that thou mayest

observe to do according to all that is

written therein: for then thou shalt

make thy way prosperous, and then

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Christians—Thermometers and Thermostats

thou shalt have good success.” (Joshua

1:8)

Meditate means to mutter and speak

to oneself. You are to study, meditate,

and speak the Word of God to yourself,

that you may observe (perceive) to do

all that is written therein. Then you will

make your way prosperous, and you

shall have good success.

There are some who say: “I just

can’t see this faith business, or I can’t

see this healing business.” There’s no

need for them to be concerned, they

won’t be bothered with it. They must

first see it on the inside before it is

manifest outwardly.

If they dare to put God’s

thermometer (how God sees it) in their

mouth, they will get a different reading.

You do that by giving voice to the

things God said rather than

circumstances that exist at the present.

The following verses reveal God’s

insight:

Who his own self bare our sins

in his own body on the tree, that

we, being dead to sins, should live

unto righteousness: by whose

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Christians—Thermometers and Thermostats

stripes ye were healed. (I Peter

2:24)

Who hath delivered us from

the power of darkness, and hath

translated us into the kingdom of

his dear Son. (Colossians 1:13)

According as his divine power

hath given unto us all things that

pertain unto life and godliness... (II

Peter 1:3)

He sent his word, and healed

them, and delivered them... (Psalm

107:20)

... all things are possible to

him that believeth. (Mark 9:23)

And all things, whatsoever ye

shall ask in prayer, believing, ye

shall receive. (Matthew 21:22)

I challenge you to make a decision to be

a Thermostat Christian and change the

things in your life that are not in

agreement with the Word of God.

Exercise your authority by turning your

attention from what has happened to

what will happen, because of your faith

in the promises of God.

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Christians—Thermometers and Thermostats

MARANATHA!

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Document Outline

- Christians—Thermometers and Thermostats

- 1 Christians—Thermometers and Thermostats

- Bible Faith

- Develop Faith

Table of Contents

Christians—Thermometers and Thermostats

1 Christians—Thermometers and Thermostats

Bible Faith