The Reset Of Your Mindset Series

1. Ask, “Is this what God wants?”

2. Ask, “Is this consistent with life and peace?”

3. Ask, “Does this bring honor to God, or reflect hostility to God?”

4. Ask, “Who is in control here? The Holy Spirit or Me?”

-If we will do this humbly and honestly, I believe the Holy Spirit will help us discern our mindset and give us courage to change the things we can with His help.

-David, the Shepherd-King, Man after God’s own heart, prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalm 139:23-24

-In order to get an accurate view of our mindset, we need God to show us. 1 Corinthians 2:10 “The Spirit searches all things….” And when He shows us an area that needs to change, we need to willingly surrender it to Him, which leads us to the next main thought.

II. Surrendering our Mindset

9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.

-We surrender our mindset to God when we come to Christ; however, if all our decisions are self-based, where does the Holy Spirit fit in? How can we say we are controlled by the Spirit if we do not give the Holy Spirit control of our thoughts, our decisions, our lives? Until we come to God on His terms and surrender ourselves entirely to Him, we cannot honor Him with our thoughts or with our behavior! If God’s Spirit lives in us, then we must stop living like He doesn’t! If we are controlled by the Holy Spirit, then we need to stop living as if the old self is in control. And how do we do that? By surrendering our hearts and minds to the Holy Spirit who lives in us.

-Paul gives two conditions in these two verses that will produce a Spirit-controlled life instead of mere human effort: “if the Spirit of God lives in you” (or you “have the Spirit of Christ”), and “if Christ is in you.” They basically mean the same thing – namely that you are willing to turn away from the wrong in your life and surrender yourself to Jesus, trusting Him to forgive you and change you forever!

-I recently saw a video clip that showed a worship team leading a number of slightly adjusted worship songs. See, the catch was that instead of singing the song the way it was written, you really sang what was going on in your heart and mind. One of the songs was, “I surrender some.” If suddenly we could only sing what was actually true in our lives, what lyrics might come out? We must surrender ourselves to God so He can help us be real!

-Well, in addition to our surrender, there are actions we can take that God has given us in His Spirit-filled word that will help us live a Spirit-controlled life.

III. Redirecting our Mindset

Colossians 3:1-3 Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.