Transcript: Renewal of the Mind: Supernatural Transformation through Jesus Christ

The Today we are going to look at the wondrous miracle of the renewal or the transformation of the mind of the individual who seeks hard after the creator of this universe. I say this is a miracle because it is. It is a divine supernatural miracle of the transformation of the individual thinking that comes into right order according to the will of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul speaks of the transformation or renewal of the mind, but we must remember that there is a difference between the mind and the brain. Let's look at Romans 12, verses 1 and 2, and see what the apostle tells us. I appeal to you, therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of all the mercies of God, To make a decisive dedication of your bodies, presenting all your members and faculties as a living sacrifice, holy, devoted, consecrated, well-pleasing to God, which is your reasonable, intelligent service and spiritual worship. Verse 2. and perfect in his sight for you. Paul tells us that we need to be transformed by the renewal of our minds, by the new ideals and attitudes, and the perfect will of God. Prophet Jeremiah, in chapter 17, verse 10, declares the word of the Lord, saying, I, the Lord, search the mind, I try the heart, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doing. Only the Holy Spirit of God can bring about this change of heart or the mind. And this is why we say this renewal or transformation is a supernatural happening. It is because God is involved in this divine miracle of changing the carnal thinking or thought life of the individual who is seeking after the Lord Jesus Christ. In searching out the difference between the mind and the brain, I have found that most of the scientists and philosophers and thinkers believe that the brain and mind are one and cannot be separated, while many others believe without a doubt that they are separate and individual. While the brain is considered to be a physical thing, The mind is considered to be mental. The brain is an organ, but the mind isn't. The brain is a physical place where the mind resides. It is a vessel in which the electronic impulses that create thought are contained. With the brain, we coordinate our moves, our activities, and transmit impulses. The brain is made up of nerve cells and blood vessels, whereas the mind is not like that. The brain has a definite place in the head, but with regard to mind, it is only supposed to be in the brain. We can see and touch the brain where that is not possible with the mind. We can ponder on what's happening all around us, what is scheduled for the day, and what possibly might happen in the future. The mind is the manifestation of thought, perception, emotion, determination, memory, and imagination that takes place within the brain. The mind is often referred to, especially, to the thought process of reason. It is the ability to understand. The mind is the awareness of consciousness, the ability to control what we do and know what we're doing and why we are doing it. The brain then, according to various modes of study, is what the mind thinks with. Someone said a man with a bad mind and a good brain is dangerous. He is like a clever devil. Well, when a person comes to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and by faith is saved, they don't get a new brain. They get a new mind. That is the mind of Christ. Satan the devil blinds and distorts your mind with lies and perversion. As Solomon said, for as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Proverbs 23, verse 7. You see, this scripture in Proverbs speaks volumes in the importance of a man or woman's thought life. This is saying that a man is as his thought life dictates. This is saying as well that a man can have control over his thoughts. This tells us too that God helps him in the exercise of that control when he is sincerely seeking after God. And this tells us what we are inwardly. We demonstrate that to both God and man. In other words, a man's inmost thinking is the true indicator or gauge, which records and manifests and points out his character. In Genesis chapter 6, verses 5 and 6, the scripture declares, The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination and intent of all human thinking was only evil continually. And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth and he was grieved in his heart In this Genesis 6 scenario we see that God destroyed the entire world because of the imagination of men's thoughts, of their hearts, was only continually evil. God had to eradicate an entire generation because of their thought life. The wickedness of man springs from his thought life. As we read and grow in the understanding of scripture, we see that it is vital for every aspect of our being that is our spiritual, mental, and emotional being part of us that we gain control over our thought life. The word of God speaks volumes about the mind and having control over it. Chapter 6, verses 7 and 8 declare, do not be deceived and deluded and misled. God will not allow himself to be sneered at, scorned, disdained, or mocked by mere pretensions or professions or by his precepts being set aside. He inevitably deludes himself who attempts to delude God. For whatever a man sows, that and only that is what he will reap. Verse 8. For he who sows to his flesh, his lower nature, sensuality, will from the flesh reap decay and ruin and destruction. But he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Whatever we sow in our mind or heart, that is exactly what we will reap. There is a saying that says, garbage in, garbage out. what you choose to believe you will do we do not act upon things we do not believe we act upon things that we do believe I want to declare and give hope for those who are sincerely seeking after God and might be presently struggling to gain control with their thought life you know that this is the very reason that Jesus Christ came into this world. He came to save sinners. And this wonderful life in Jesus Christ begins with faith on the believer's part. Romans chapter 10 tells us, so faith comes by hearing what is told and what is heard comes by preaching of the message that came from the lips of Jesus Christ, the Messiah himself. so the new believer in Christ believes what is told in the word of God and has faith that Jesus will deliver him or her from the bondage of their thought life it must be understood to begin with we must have a regenerate mind and let's look at what Apostle Paul's word to the Corinthians tells us that is 2 Corinthians chapter 4 beginning in verse 3. But even if our gospel, the glad tidings, also be hidden, obscured, and covered up with a veil that hinders the knowledge of God, it is hidden only from those who are perishing and only obscured to those who are spiritually dying and veiled only to those who are lost. Verse 4, for the God of this world has blinded the unbelievers' minds that they should not discern the truth, preventing them from seeing the illuminating light of the gospel of the glory of Christ the Messiah, who is the image and likeness of God. For what we preach is not of ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves merely as your servants, slaves, for Jesus' sake. verse 6 for God who said let light shine out of darkness has shown in our hearts and so as to beam forth the light for the illumination of the knowledge of the majesty and glory of God as it is manifest in the person and is revealed in the face of Jesus Christ the Messiah we know of course that Satan is the god of this world. Why is the gospel hidden from those who are lost then? And what is exactly the enemy trying to do in his determination to keep people from seeing? Well, let's look at those various words that Paul makes his point with in the scripture. veiled, perishing, blinded, darkness versus the light, glory, image, shine, knowledge in the face of we see Paul paints a picture here showing the darkness contrasted against the light Jesus said in John chapter 8 verse 12 I am the light of the world Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life. Clearly, Jesus is the light of the world. In 2 Corinthians 4, verse 6, For God who said, Let light shine out of darkness, has shone in our hearts, so as to beam forth the light for the illumination of the knowledge of the majesty and glory of God as it is manifest in the person and revealed in the face of Jesus Christ? Think about that. What this verse is saying to you personally and to me, we see that as a human being, we do not hold power over the light of Christ illuminating the knowledge of the truth in our mind or hearts. If God the Father had not loved humankind so very much and taken the initiative to command the light to shine out of darkness, we would all be walking in the darkness of our minds, committing every sinful pleasure that would send us all directly to hell. 2 Corinthians 4 describes the unregenerate mind, the mind of those who have not been transformed by the gospel of Christ, but remain dead in their trespasses and sins. It is hard for us to think of ourselves as having been dead before we came to know Christ. We can all reflect back to when we were dead in our trespasses and sins We thought we were just fine thank you You see the lost person sees himself as alive and those who follow Christ pretty much as dead They're a weird, a lost cause, and they use Jesus like a crutch. So they think. But God sees it all differently. In Ephesians chapter 2, verses 1 through 3, the word declares, And you, he made alive, quickened, when you were dead, slain by your trespasses and sins, in which at one time you walked habitually. You were following the course and fashion of this world, were under the sway and tendency of this present age, following the prince of the power of the air. You were obedient to and under the control of the demon spirit that still constantly works in the sons of disobedience, the careless, rebellious, and unbelieving who go against the purposes of God. Verse 3. Among these as well, you once lived and conducted yourself in the passions of our flesh, our behavior governed by our corrupt and sensual nature, obeying the impulses of the flesh and the thoughts of the minds, our cravings dictated by our senses and our dark imaginations. we were then by nature children of God's wrath and heirs of his indignation like the rest of mankind. King James Version uses the word quicken. A closer look at the word quicken, that whenever we see the word quicken, it means to be made alive, something dead that is now brought back to life, A mind that is dead to God and to spiritual reality cannot see reality as God sees it. You see, unregenerate souls are dead in trespasses and sins. This is God's word. All those who are in their sins are dead in sins. And this includes all sorts of sins. Habitual sins. Sins of the heart. Sins of life. Sin is the death of the soul. And Paul continues, whatever that prevails, there is loss and absence of all spiritual life. Sinners are dead in a state where they are cut off from God, who is the very fountain of life that is eternal life. Satan is the prince of the power of the air. Without true salvation, people walk about, walk around with a corrupt mind. Satan is battling to control the thought life of every person, young and old, all over the world. Satan is controlling the thought life of so many due to social media, due to technology, music, movies, and so forth. but thank God he sent his son Jesus Christ into this world and commanded light out of the darkness for light to shine out of the darkness of one's soul is because they want Jesus Christ to take control over their thought life first and foremost importantly a person must be saved or born again in order to have their minds renewed and this is a personal choice this is not herd mentality Jesus said in John chapter 3 verse 3 he said most assuredly I say to you unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God did you notice that Jesus said they cannot see they cannot see the kingdom of God Satan blinds the mind without the new birth none of us would be able to see spiritually and this is they cannot perceive or understand the spiritual truths because they are not truly saved Romans chapter 12 verse 2 explains do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind this transformation of the renewal of the mind comes with salvation and it is by faith in Jesus Christ that we can see. Your mind and seeing and your true and genuine salvation are all intertwined. As we saw in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 4, Satan has blinded the minds of those who do not believe, pulling the veil of darkness over the mind unless a ray of gospel truth penetrates the dark, murky recesses of the soul and frees it from its prison and darkness. The devil wants to imprison mankind in the dark. He doesn't want God to illuminate the light of the truth in their souls. Romans chapter 8, verses 6 and 8 tells us that to be kindly minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace because the carnal mind is enmity against God for it is not subject to the law of God nor can it be so then those who are in the flesh cannot please God true salvation gives us a new mind or heart we who have been saved now can have the mind of Christ We supernaturally and miraculously are privileged to have a new mind. This is the divine work of the Holy Spirit within a yielded heart who has submitted itself by faith to the Lord's will. In Proverbs 4, verse 23, God tells us, Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it springs the issues of life. We talk a lot about our hearts. This scripture tells us to guard our hearts. Do you know that this scripture is really saying and is connected to control over your thought life? Hebrews 4.12 declares, For the word that God speaks is alive and full of power, making it active, operative, energizing, and effective. It is sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating to the divining line of the breath of the life of the soul and the immortal spirit of the joints and marrow of the deepest parts of our nature exposing and shifting and analyzing and judging the very thoughts and purposes of the heart Hebrews 4 12 overall shows the power of the word of God in a believer's life but it also reveals how closely related our thoughts and emotions are God wants us to have single-minded devotion to him. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11, verse 2 and 3, I am zealous for you with a godly eagerness and a divine jealousy, for I have betrothed you to one husband to present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. but now I am fearful lest that even as a serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning so your minds may be corrupted and seduced from wholehearted and sincere and pure devotion to Christ Satan's plan is to steal people's minds from single-minded devotion which is due to the almighty creator we are to love the Lord with single-minded sincerity and loyalty Jesus must be number one in my life because a divided heart means a broken relationship with him. Wow, think about that. If a person does not have single-minded, devoted heart which focuses on God and his will and plan for their lives, then scripture says they're not saved. There is no salvation in a broken relationship with Jesus Christ. The bottom line in this message today is that the battle people face and have begins in their mind. It is said that the mind is the battleground of Satan the devil. Everything begins in the mind. And this is why we spend so much time on speaking about the mind. 1 Corinthians 10, verse 3 declares, All of them ate the same spiritual, supernaturally given food, And they all drank from the same spiritually supernatural given drink. For they drank from a spiritual rock which followed them, produced by the sole power of God himself without natural instrumentality. And the rock was Christ. Verse 5. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with the great majority of them, for they were overthrown and strewn along the ground in the wilderness. Verse 6. Now these are examples, warnings, admonitions for us not to desire or crave or covet or lust after evil and carnal things as they did. Paul is really telling us there is a war. But it is not a war in the flesh. We're in a battle for the control of our minds. and today there is so much going on in the world that our minds can be subtly distracted away from keeping and guarding our hearts or minds from the precious word of God which is like a lamp unto our feet. Remember, as a person thinks, so is he and we act upon what we believe. The word of God tells us that our weapons of warfare are not physical. 2 Corinthians 10, beginning in verse 4. For the weapons of our warfare are not physical weapons of the flesh and blood, but they are mighty before God. For the weapons of our warfare are not physical weapons of flesh and blood, but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds. Inasmuch as we refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the true knowledge of God and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ, being in readiness to punish every insubordinate for his disobedience when your own submission and disobedience are fully secured and complete. Think about this. if the renewal of our minds or hearts is a miracle brought about by the eternal living God then he gives us spiritual weapons of warfare to defeat the evil one no as is Satan the devil Satan again attacks the mind we have been given the mandate in this word to pull down every stronghold that sets itself up in our minds against the word of God We do this because it is in keeping with our devotion to God Almighty. We do this because God has commanded light to shine out of darkness of our hearts. And he's quickened and inspired the knowledge of the truth to now be a reality in our hearts. This is God's supernatural power working in your heart. And if you believe the truth of God's word and the promises he has given you in the Bible, then you must fight to keep and embrace those truths in your heart and mind until the very end of your life. You and I cannot compromise the truth. Remember, our hearts, our minds, have to be renewed by the knowledge of the Holy Spirit every day. Our hearts and minds are the center of our thoughts and emotions to this knowledge and truth. let us keep our focus in the end days and let us praise and always give thanks to God for his loving kindness and our Savior who died for us and for his promises that he keeps us to the very end if we are faithful to him and to his commands in the living word of God. God's living word will never fail us. It lives forever If you believe this with all of your heart, your faith in Jesus Christ is living and active and empowered by precious Holy Spirit to bring you home safely to the eternity of eternities. .