RENEWING THE MIND
INTRODUCTION
1. Beloved of Jesus Christ, what a wonderful day that this is. A definite gift from God. What a wonderful Savior that I have.
2. Is He your savior too? I pray that He is Beloved, as it would be too much to live without Him, as the whim of the devil and at the whim of the people of this world.
3. As we continue in our Christian Walk series, I want to discuss with you a discipline that we really need to get down.
4. Beloved, if anyone wants to be the best at anything, he needs to show discipline in his training, learning and conditioning. If you don’t believe me, just watch an athlete and see the torture that he goes through to achieve the prize.
4. The first discipline that we discussed, was that we needed to make the conscious decision to follow Jesus Christ. It was not something that would just fall on us, or that we would feel. We also saw that we could not totally rely on feeling, as it would lead us astray.
5. Secondly we saw that we needed to develop a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and Make Him Lord of our Lives, not just our Savior. We saw that only in being close to Jesus, our shepherd, could we be kept safe.
6. Today, we are going to discuss the next step in our Christian Walk, that is so important. Let me just say, that we cannot swap these around, we need to perfect them in this order, or as we work out our salvation, we will leave out an important ingredient, and we will fail.
7. There is however, a terrible tragedy that many people face today.
I. THE 21ST CENTURY CHRISTIAN’S TRAGEDY
A. The Carnal Christian Of Today.
1. Dearly Beloved of Jesus Christ, what is the most important thing that we should be trying to achieve in this life? Is it trying to amass large sums of money, is it trying to have long life, is it trying to be popular or perhaps it is trying to have a large church building.
2. Beloved, non of these things will ever amount to anything. They are temporal, and only last for the time while we are hear on this earth. In fact the Jesus warns us in MT 6:19 "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
3. In the 21st Century, it is hard to be a true Christian. There are many who make the claim that they are a Christian, and yet their very lives betray that they are not. 2TI 3:1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
B. The Most Damaging Lie Ever
1. Now I don’t know your walk with Jesus Christ, all I can do is judge the fruits of your life that are evident to me. How you live your Christian walk is not my decision, it is yours, but one thing I do want to say to you today is, “Do not lie to yourself.” You see, there are many in this world who live a lie, and they are not truthful to themselves. Wouldn’t it be terrible to arrive in front of Jesus and hear that you had believed a lie all this time, and now you cannot go back.
2. Here is the truth from God’s own Word. You are clever enough, so you interpret what it says, no one has to be told what it means. John says 1JN 2:4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
3. Wow, heavy stuff, but this is the truth, and it is the lie that is being spouted by false prophets out there, who are leading people astray. They say, “Just believe, you can act however you want, but just believe and you will be saved.” THIS IS A LIE, IT IS NOT THE TRUTH.
4. Friends, listen to me, the time is coming, when we will not be able to have a choice any more, it will be too late. Jesus would have returned, we would have made the final choice, and then what are you going to do, when it is the wrong one? Make excuses, pretend that you didn’t know, blame someone else? With tears in His eyes, Jesus will turn His back on you and say to the Father, “I never knew them.”
C. The Christ Centered Truth.
1. The Christ focused Christian, lives a sin free life. The Christian who lives in TRUTH clothes himself in righteousness, and the Power of the Holy Spirit. He makes changes in his life and stops continuing in sin. This is REPENTANCE.
2. The Christian, who lives in truth, has Christ at the center of his life, and the most important thing in his life is Jesus Christ and pleasing Jesus Christ. He is no longer focused on making money, houses, cars, pleasure or anything else of this world. His pleasure is found in his love for his Lord.
3. Jesus makes it very clear, He lays down the truth. JN 14:23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
4. Paul also spells it out for us in PHP 2:12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed--not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence--continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
5. Do you notice that the working out of our salvation, boils down to OBEYING. It is in the obedience of Jesus Christ, that we show that we love Him.
II. THE 21ST CENTURY CHRISTIAN’S CHOICES
A. Making The Right Choices.
1. The amount of apathy in the world today, especially in the church is shocking. It is this apathy that will be the downfall of this society. It is a state of comfort that doesn’t interfere with our pleasure zone.
2. If you think that Jesus and church is a myth, then just wait, as you are in for a shock. If you think that there is much time to make changes, then you are in for a shock. If you think that you can live your life however you want and just scrape in, then you are in for a big shock, if you think that you can believe what you want and ignore the rest, you are in for a big shock. One day, these people will be screaming in terror and fear, as they come face to face with the living God. Jesus, who knows God gives us ample warning in MT 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
3. The first step of the True Christian is to make some choices.
a. First, that they are a sinner, and cannot save themselves.
b. Secondly, that Jesus shed His blood to save them from their miserable wretchedness.
c. Thirdly, that Jesus makes it possible to live a sin free life by the power of the Holy Spirit.
d. Fourthly, that they are to leave behind the desires for the things that are contrary to God. This is called repentance.
B. Choosing To Be God’s Temple.
1. The God of the ages, does not any longer life in a temple made of stone, gold or materials. He lives in the heart and soul of the Christian, in the form of His Holy Spirit.
2. Our responsibility then, is to keep the temple of God Holy.
RO 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-- this is your spiritual act of worship. 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.
3. It is in the living, that we please God, and this is our spiritual act of worship. And here all this time, I thought it was singing and raising my hands that was worship. NO! it is the way we live our lives. It is your choice.
III. THE 21ST CENTURY CHRISTIAN’S BATTLE
A. Perparing For The Battle.
1. Beloved, this is not an easy task, but with a little resistance to the devil, we are able to overcome the world, as God gives us the power to do so. JAS 4:7 Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
2. The secret to doing battle, and having the power of God with you, once again lies in the cleansing the sins from our lives. It is the changing of our lives in repentance.
3. Throughout the Scriptures, we can read that this battle against the forces of this world and the desires of the flesh, is fought in the spirit, not the flesh. All too often, we want to treat the symptom, which is in the flesh, and are so engrossed in that, that we become totally unaware to the cause of the problem. EPH 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
B. Fighting The Battle.
1. The war that is fought, is one that has already been won for us, but that does not mean that the battle is yet over. It is now the devil trying to destroy as many as possible.
2. The battle is fought in the focus of our life. Either we continue to focus on us, our needs, our wants, our pleasure and the things of the flesh, or we focus on Jesus Christ, His wants, His needs, His pleasure and the spirit.
3. This is described by the apostle Paul in EPH 4:22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
C. Winning The Battle.
1. There is something that is common in all these scriptures that we read about stopping sin in our lives, and that is the statement, that we are to “renew our minds.” What on earth is Paul talking about, and how are we supposed to do this?
2. The Bible has a bunch to say about the renewing of the mind, and here it is.
a. RO 8:5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. So focus on the desires of the Spirit. What does the Spirit desire?
b. 1CO 2:9 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" -- 1CO 2:10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. …..
……13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words……
….. 16 "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.
c. PHP 2:5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!
d. PHP 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
3. Beloved, change your thinking. Do not let any evil have place there. It begins with a small thought and grows into a huge ugly temptation. Learn to be ever vigilant. Learn to cast these thoughts out of your mind before they root and lead you down to the path of destruction.
4. Be like the apostle Paul who says 2CO 10:3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
CONCLUSION
1. Now is the time to take captive every thought, and renew the mind.
2. Think on whatever is excellent, or praiseworthy. Think about Jesus Christ, the perfecter of our faith.
3. Now is the time to know Jesus Christ. Do you really know Him? Is He both Savior and Lord of your life?
