Mind Games Series #1
Unleashing the Power of the Mind
www.stevenscreek.net
Dr. Marty Baker / January 19, 2003
Today we embark on a five week series called Mind Games. This series will help you focus your mind on ways that will help you become a better person. The foundation of these messages is Romans 12:2.
Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.
One of the top advertising slogans of the last century was released in 1972 by the United Negro College Fund. What is it? "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." A few years ago, someone printed that slogan on the front of a T-shirt. On the back of the shirt it read: "I ought to know." Too many of us wear that T-shirt. We have wasted time playing mind games and have lost precious opportunities to renew and develop our minds.
Why is this important? The mind is the soul’s primary vehicle for making contact with God. The mind plays a fundamental role in the process of change, maturity and spiritual formation.
When we fail to develop our minds we will live an empty life. We will be self-absorbed, hurried and busy, but lack the essence of true fulfillment.
When we fail to develop our minds, we retreat into passivity. We become intellectual couch potatoes. The news media does the political thinking for us; our favorite sports teams exercise, struggle and win for us; and the pastor studies the Bible for us. A couch potato does not have a life of his own, so he lives his life vicariously through other people. In the end, our world is characterized by emptiness.
God does not want you to live your life through someone else. He wants you to be filled with his knowledge and his presence.
2 Peter 1:3
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.
Did you notice that verse? "Through our knowledge of him..."
What do you know about God? Do you know that God exists in trinity? The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He’s one God with three parts. Did you know that He spoke and the worlds were formed? He created man named Adam and placed him in a garden with his wife Eve.
What do you know about Noah and the flood, Abraham and Isaac, Sodom and Gormorrah, Joseph and his multicolored coat, Moses and the Children of Israel, David and Goliath, Solomon and his seven hundred wives? What do you know about Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel?
Do you know anything about Jesus? Of course, we know about the manger and the angels? Do you know why Jesus came to his earth? Do you know that Jesus will return to his earth a second time and settle the score? Then, those who have received his message and believed his word will live forever with him while those who have rejected his message will live in eternity away from God.
Can you name the twelve disciples of Jesus? Do you know the difference between a disciple and an apostle?
Somewhere along the line, we forgot to develop our minds. We can tell you about Matthew Broderick, Mark Martin, Luke Wilson, and John Mayer, but do we know the real Matthew, Mark, Luke and John that these guys were named after?
Do we know the Bible? Several years ago, Jay Leno did a "man-on-the-street" interview with some young people to ask them questions about the Bible. He asked two college-aged women, "Can you name one of the Ten Commandments?" One replied, "Freedom of speech?" Mr. Leno said to the other, "Complete this sentence: Let he who is without sin..." Her response was, "have a good time?" Mr. Leno then turned to a young man and asked, "Who, according to the Bible, was eaten by a whale?" The confident answer was, "Pinocchio."
We laugh at Leno and his jokes, but this says something very telling about our culture. We have a form of Godliness, but not the power that He provides.
Knowledge is power. The more you know about something, the more you will be able to see when you look at it.
A doctor and I can look at the same skin problem (a case of simple seeing), but he observes more than I do. Why? Because his mind is filled with medical concepts and beliefs I do not have. His knowledge enables him to notice things I fail to observe. He can tell if it is a basal cell or squamous cell carcinoma. I cannot do this because my mind lacks the knowledge that he has. I can stare at the same sore all day long and not see what he sees. The more you know about something, the more you will be able to see when you look at it.
Here’s the point. If you discipline your mind to know God and His Word, then your experience here at Stevens Creek will take on a new meaning. You will be able to see God in broader ways. You will be able to understand the Bible on new levels. You will be able to experience an inner peace and have genuine confidence as you face what comes your way.
Knowledge is power, especially when it is rooted in God’s Word. Allow God to renew your mind through His Word. No matter how much we know in any area, there are always new things to learn, and things we have previously learned that we need to be refreshed in.
Why is it important to have a renewed mind? The Old Testament teaches us:
Proverbs 23:7 (KJV)
"As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he..."
Another translation states: "As a man thinks in his heart, so does he become." You become what you think about. This verse is a reminder that our life actions are based upon our thinking habits. You sow a thought, you reap an action. You sow an action, you reap a character. You sow a character, you reap a destiny. Your behavior is an indicator of what you believe.
Our actions are a direct result of our thoughts. Many of our problems are rooted in thinking patterns that actually produce the problems we have. If we have a negative mind, we will have a negative life.
If, on the other hand, we renew our mind according to God’s Word, we will discover God’s good, pleasing and perfect will. William James said, "The greatest discovery of my generation is that a human being can alter his life by altering his attitude." That’s why the Bible says,
Philippians 2:5
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Steps to Understanding the Mind of Christ
1. Exercise your mind regularly.
Exercise is never easy. It always requires a measure of pain. Through the years there have been times when I have become flabby intellectually. If we are going to have the mind of Christ, then we must train ourselves to think like Jesus would think. Paul encouraged Timothy in this:
1 Timothy 4:7
Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.
Do you have a daily Bible reading plan? What kind of books are you reading? Allow yourself to be stretched in new ways of thinking.
2. Be committed to seeking and finding truth even if the truth is not what you wanted to hear.
John 8:32
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."
The truth will introduce freedom in your life. Many of you are bound emotionally because you have not accepted God’s truth in your life. You matter to God. He loves you right where you are. Accept God’s truth and be free.
Proverbs 2:1-5
1 My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you,
2 turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding,
3 and if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding,
4 and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure,
5 then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God.
3. Be doers of the Word even when it is not popular.
James 1:22
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
There will be many times in your life where you are forced to make a decision that goes against the grain of popular culture. Your friends may even encourage you to go against your values. At these times you need the strength and power from God’s Word. Stay the course. Do what it says.
4. Learn to defend your views without being defensive.
Defend the truth. Stand up for what you believe, but don’t be argumentative. Do not allow anger to control the conversation.
1 Peter 3:15
But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
You can be confident that heaven and earth will pass away, but God’s Word will remain true. You plant the seed and water it. God will make it grow.
5. Season the truth with a compassionate and loving heart.
Ephesians 4:15
Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.
Closing Thoughts and Prayer
