January 11th, 2026
Discernment: Living Wisely in the New Year!
Part 3: Rebuking Negative Mindsets
Judges 6
Pastor Ray-Ann Dela Fuente
January 11, 2026
Memory Verse:
“No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
Philippians 3:13-14 NLT
Introduction:
Welcome to the River of Faith! Today we are in part three of our series called "Discernment."
The word "discern" comes from the Greek word "anakrino" which means to examine, to separate, or to distinguish.
To live wisely is to think wisely and to have the godly wisdom that God gives us we must get rid of all the negative mindsets that control our mind. One of the most dangerous mindsets is the victim mentality. This hinders us from seeing what God is doing and impends our growth in Christ. We must rebuke this mindset if we want to live wisely in the new year.
Main Pointers:
“The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. So the Lord handed them over to the Midianites for seven years. The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, marauders from Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east would attack Israel, camping in the land and destroying crops as far away as Gaza. They left the Israelites with nothing to eat, taking all the sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. These enemy hordes, coming with their livestock and tents, were as thick as locusts; they arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count. And they stayed until the land was stripped bare. So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help.”
Judges 6:1-6 NLT
1. We must be careful how we let the challenges in life define us.
A. Defeat is one of the hardest obstacles to overcome in life. It is no doubt that at this time Israel was so defeated that all they could do is to call on God for help.
B. How do problems and challenges in life define you? Does the problem change your attitude or your attitude change the problem? Victim mentality does not happen overnight. It's the constant lying of the devil trying to convince you that you're a victim!
C. “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us."
Romans 8:35-37 NLT
2. Rebuke the victim mentality before it consumes your life.
“Then the angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the great tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Abiezer. Gideon son of Joash was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” “Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.” Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!” “But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!” The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”
Judges 6:11-16 NLT
A. The Israelites called and once again the Lord answered. Through Gideon the Lord answered them but they were not ready for it. Gideon was so consumed by victim mentality that he could not even hear what God was telling Him.
B. A victim-minded person always finds an excuse not to obey God and justifies it by blaming others for their actions. The problem with victim mentality is we confused our identity based on other people's perception.
C. “Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.
Romans 12:3 NLT
3. Only by the Spirit of God can we ever overcome the spirit of victim mentality.
“Soon afterward the armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east formed an alliance against Israel and crossed the Jordan, camping in the valley of Jezreel. Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with power. He blew a ram’s horn as a call to arms, and the men of the clan of Abiezer came to him. He also sent messengers throughout Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, summoning their warriors, and all of them responded. Then Gideon said to God, “If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised.” And that is just what happened. When Gideon got up early he next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water.”
Judges 6:33-38 NLT
A. It was the Spirit of the Lord that clothed Gideon with power that he even influenced other men and the rest of Israel to rise up and be courageous.
B. “But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15:57 NLT
Conclusion:
As we begin the year of 2026 we must be aware of the negative things that we allow our minds to control. We must identify all the negative thoughts and feelings that we subject ourselves to. Rebuke it in the name of Jesus and remind yourself that you are more than
conquerors in Christ. Our identity is not tied in to what happened in the past and what other people did to us. Our Identity is in Christ and in Christ there are no victims but only Victors!!!
Part 3: Rebuking Negative Mindsets
Judges 6
Pastor Ray-Ann Dela Fuente
January 11, 2026
Memory Verse:
“No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.”
Philippians 3:13-14 NLT
Introduction:
Welcome to the River of Faith! Today we are in part three of our series called "Discernment."
The word "discern" comes from the Greek word "anakrino" which means to examine, to separate, or to distinguish.
To live wisely is to think wisely and to have the godly wisdom that God gives us we must get rid of all the negative mindsets that control our mind. One of the most dangerous mindsets is the victim mentality. This hinders us from seeing what God is doing and impends our growth in Christ. We must rebuke this mindset if we want to live wisely in the new year.
Main Pointers:
“The Israelites did evil in the Lord’s sight. So the Lord handed them over to the Midianites for seven years. The Midianites were so cruel that the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, marauders from Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east would attack Israel, camping in the land and destroying crops as far away as Gaza. They left the Israelites with nothing to eat, taking all the sheep, goats, cattle, and donkeys. These enemy hordes, coming with their livestock and tents, were as thick as locusts; they arrived on droves of camels too numerous to count. And they stayed until the land was stripped bare. So Israel was reduced to starvation by the Midianites. Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord for help.”
Judges 6:1-6 NLT
1. We must be careful how we let the challenges in life define us.
A. Defeat is one of the hardest obstacles to overcome in life. It is no doubt that at this time Israel was so defeated that all they could do is to call on God for help.
B. How do problems and challenges in life define you? Does the problem change your attitude or your attitude change the problem? Victim mentality does not happen overnight. It's the constant lying of the devil trying to convince you that you're a victim!
C. “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? (As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us."
Romans 8:35-37 NLT
2. Rebuke the victim mentality before it consumes your life.
“Then the angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the great tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Abiezer. Gideon son of Joash was threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, “Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!” “Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.” Then the Lord turned to him and said, “Go with the strength you have, and rescue Israel from the Midianites. I am sending you!” “But Lord,” Gideon replied, “how can I rescue Israel? My clan is the weakest in the whole tribe of Manasseh, and I am the least in my entire family!” The Lord said to him, “I will be with you. And you will destroy the Midianites as if you were fighting against one man.”
Judges 6:11-16 NLT
A. The Israelites called and once again the Lord answered. Through Gideon the Lord answered them but they were not ready for it. Gideon was so consumed by victim mentality that he could not even hear what God was telling Him.
B. A victim-minded person always finds an excuse not to obey God and justifies it by blaming others for their actions. The problem with victim mentality is we confused our identity based on other people's perception.
C. “Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.
Romans 12:3 NLT
3. Only by the Spirit of God can we ever overcome the spirit of victim mentality.
“Soon afterward the armies of Midian, Amalek, and the people of the east formed an alliance against Israel and crossed the Jordan, camping in the valley of Jezreel. Then the Spirit of the Lord clothed Gideon with power. He blew a ram’s horn as a call to arms, and the men of the clan of Abiezer came to him. He also sent messengers throughout Manasseh, Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, summoning their warriors, and all of them responded. Then Gideon said to God, “If you are truly going to use me to rescue Israel as you promised, prove it to me in this way. I will put a wool fleece on the threshing floor tonight. If the fleece is wet with dew in the morning but the ground is dry, then I will know that you are going to help me rescue Israel as you promised.” And that is just what happened. When Gideon got up early he next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out a whole bowlful of water.”
Judges 6:33-38 NLT
A. It was the Spirit of the Lord that clothed Gideon with power that he even influenced other men and the rest of Israel to rise up and be courageous.
B. “But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15:57 NLT
Conclusion:
As we begin the year of 2026 we must be aware of the negative things that we allow our minds to control. We must identify all the negative thoughts and feelings that we subject ourselves to. Rebuke it in the name of Jesus and remind yourself that you are more than
conquerors in Christ. Our identity is not tied in to what happened in the past and what other people did to us. Our Identity is in Christ and in Christ there are no victims but only Victors!!!
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