Heavenly Perspective - Renewing of the mind
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· 6 viewsWe must think differently if we are going to live differently.
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23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
Renew - Renovate, i.e. to reform
God commands us to be renovated and re-formed in the pneuma (breath) of our mind!
Why Do We Need to Change Our Thinking?
Why Do We Need to Change Our Thinking?
5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
To become a child of God and keep thinking the way we have always thought is being carnally minded.
When people judge what God should do based upon what they would do, they will be disappointed by God!
25 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.
The way we think is literally killing us!
The interesting thing is that that we don’t process it like that.
Because we don’t immediately get feedback that we are in danger, we feel like it’s okay.
This is how our limbic system works:
The limbic system is the part of the brain involved in our behavioral and emotional responses, especially when it comes to behaviors we need for survival: feeding, reproduction and caring for our young, and fight or flight responses.
This is why we don’t feel aversion to drinking sodas, or speeding, or spending more than we should, or disobeying God -
If we don’t feel imminent danger, our limbic system says we are okay & don’t need to make a change.
God says our way of thinking needs to change to be like His (Isaiah 55, Proverbs 16, etc.)
Believe God more than your limbic system!
How Can I Change the Way I Think?
How Can I Change the Way I Think?
2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
Don’t be of the same pattern as the world.
Transformed - to literally or figuratively Metamorphose
Most animals change gradually & sometimes imperceptibly so.
There are some animals that metamorphose instead.
Butterflies and Frogs are our most well known examples of a metamorphosis.
The word “metamorphosis” is Greek, and it means to change or transform in shape — going from one type of life form to a completely different one.
Metamorphosis is an abrupt and significant change!
1. Renew our knowledge & change our source of knowledge.
1. Renew our knowledge & change our source of knowledge.
9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him,
2. Wash our thoughts clean - get our brain washed by the Word of God!
2. Wash our thoughts clean - get our brain washed by the Word of God!
26 So that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word,
3. Put so much Word & so much Jesus in that there is nothing else that can come out.
3. Put so much Word & so much Jesus in that there is nothing else that can come out.
34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
4. Believe & Do the Word of God - every bit of it!
4. Believe & Do the Word of God - every bit of it!
16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,
This is the Word of God...
Choose to believe every bit of the Word of God!
Credit: Nabil Alouani & David Bayer
Our beliefs dictate our thoughts which dictate our actions and reactions alongside the emotions that come with them.
Our actions, stacked over time, shape our behavior.
Repeated behaviors become habit.
Habits are “energetically cost-effective” and easier to carry out because we don’t have to expend energy to even think about it consciously.
By contrast, consciously changing our behaviors translates into changing the way we think.
(Kind of reverse engineering)
The creation of new brain patterns needed for new habits costs time and energy.
Naturally, our brains prefer the path of least resistance, even if it’s harmful - our brain prefers our old carnal habits.
The most efficient way to hack your habits & reactions is to reframe & reshape your beliefs.
Let’s begin to reframe our lives at the cost of energy and time
3 By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.
Reframing is about writing down the perfect script for your reactions.
Then, you play the role of the person that you aspire to become until your brain learns how to perform as that person, automatically.
The most accessible method to change your habitual reactions is to:
#1 delay your reactions (Don’t react from habit - respond)
#2 reframe & redo them according to a Christ-led (word-led) way of living.
WDJD (it’s literally written down in the Bible)!
WDJD Not WWYDTHTJSHDIOWHD
what would YOU do that you think Jesus should have done instead of what He did.
A Great Example of Christ’s Mind:
A Great Example of Christ’s Mind:
1 Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. 2 And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” 3 Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. 4 I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. 5 As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
This incident shows 2 distinct ways of thinking
The Disciples vs. Jesus.
The disciples were looking to lay blame for the outcome.
Jesus saw an opportunity to show God’s goodness & allow the situation to reaffirm who He was.
Just One Thing:
Just One Thing:
Wash your mind constantly with the Word of God & Let it change our habitual behavior to be just like Jesus’!
Discussion Questions:
Discussion Questions:
What’s legal now, but probably won’t be in 25 years?
What, if anything, did you realize about your personal thoughts, habits, or behaviors as a result of this sermon?
Please Read 2 Timothy 3:16 and share what this scripture means to you (maybe even do a little research for understanding), and share your response/reaction to this verse.
What is one habitual behavior or reaction that you have that you are going to work on and address through taking action on the word of God? If you know the scriptural answer, please share WWJD.
