The Changed Mind

Review

Turn to Acts 17:22-31.

So far in our series, we’ve learned that God is the creator and designer of our minds. Therefore, we are accountable to Him for how we think. We cannot allow our minds to be an open playground of good and evil thoughts. We must deliberately choose what thoughts we will allow and what thoughts we will replace.

Message

Read Acts 17:22-31.

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Slide of the Areopagus/Mars’ Hill

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Video of the Acropolis and Mars’ Hill

[Standing on Mars’ Hill,] Paul now begins to challenge the thinking of those who were gathered there… While they were very open-minded to the pluralistic thinking of their day, Paul admonishes them to "change their minds."

Look at verses 29-30 again.

Acts 17:29–30 (KJV 1900)

Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

Their thinking about God was wrong and needed to be changed. - What’s On Your Mind, Dr. John Goetsch, page 17

Application: Paul was making this appeal to unsaved Grecian philosophers, but often, the same principle is true of us also. Many times in life our thinking about God is wrong and needs to be changed.

“Pastor Tim, I’m saved! How can you say that my thinking about God might be wrong sometimes?”

Here’s an example:

Sometimes when a loved one passes away, people get angry and bitter at God. Even professing Christians can be guilty of this. “God! Why did you take them away from me?” Statements like that indicate wrong thinking about God.

It assumes that God is not good.

It assumes that God is the cause of death. He is not. The curse of sin is the cause of death.

It assumes that God owes us something. He doesn’t. We owe Him everything.

I’m sure that if we put our minds together, we could develop even more examples of how our thinking about God is sometimes wrong and needs to be changed.

“Wrong thinking [about God] is a result of the sin nature.” - What’s On Your Mind, Dr. John Goetsch, page 17

In other words, “our very being or make-up is sinful. Thus, not only do we do wrong things naturally, we think wrong things naturally.”

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Ephesians 2:3 KJV 1900

Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Your brain’s default mode is to think wrong thoughts.

Application: Please understand, you may know that you have a sin nature, but you may not have considered what that means about your mind. Your mind is the starting point of your sin.

“We often focus on the lifestyle that needs to change at salvation, but conversion also involves a changed mind.” - What’s On Your Mind, Dr. John Goetsch, page 17

In Acts chapter 17, Paul gives three reasons why the Athenians needed to have a change of mind - three reasons why we need to change how we think:

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God is a living God - Acts 17:29.

Paul’s argument to these philosophers, these lovers of human logic, is simply this: we are living creatures, therefore, He must be a living God! Something that is dead like a gold statue cannot make something that is alive like a human being.

Application: Because He is the living God, He demands a change in our thinking. That’s the case that Paul brought to the philosophers here.

“Pastor Tim, that sounds a lot like what you said last week. Since God is the creator of our minds, we’re accountable to Him.”

Yes, you’re exactly right. It’s largely the same point and it’s found all throughout the Bible.

So how’s your thinking? Are there ways that it needs to change? Do you have thought patterns that don’t please God?

It could be how you think about other people or about a particular person.

It could be that you are allowing outside sources to affect your thinking.

It could be how you react to certain things or situations.

Illustration about one of the driver coordinators at Walmart who couldn’t stick to her diet because she hadn’t changed her mind.

So first, God is a living God, secondly…

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God is a longsuffering God - Acts 17:30.

Paul continues in verse 30 and explains that God is a patient, longsuffering God.

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Winked at: To overlook; to allow for a time against His own interest

Application: God is patient, but He doesn’t want your mind stay unchanged after salvation.

See, God doesn’t focus on the outside without regard for the inside. We do that. We’re guilty of that in our churches! As long as a person dresses up, comes to church every time the doors are open and puts money in the offering plate, they’re a good Christian! That’s the culture in way too many churches. I’m afraid that very few look much deeper than that. Very few are concerned about motives. Very few are concerned about our thoughts. That’s why our churches, according to statistics, our churches are full of clean-cut people who are quietly struggling with pornography!

Man sees the outside appearance but God sees the heart! If that’s you tonight, if you’re wrestling with that sin, there’s hope for you, but you have to get help. You have to get counsel. God intends to change you from the inside out. That transformation must begin in your mind!

God is a longsuffering God. Thirdly…

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God is a lawful God - Acts 17:30.

“Don’t get too comfortable with God’s patience. He has winked at this ignorance,” but now commands us to repent!

Application: In other words, change your mind! Change your thinking about something!

Change your thinking about your idols!

Change your thinking about your sin!

Change your thinking about your habits!

Change your thinking about your failures and areas of weakness! Don’t be comfortable with them, be disgusted by them!

Don’t just blame your culture. Don’t just blame your background. Don’t just blame your upbringing! Take responsibility for yourself before the living God and decide right now that you want to have a changed mind.

Dr. Goetsch made this statement: “Too often, man changes his actions when he gets caught, but never changes his mind about sin.” - What’s On Your Mind, Dr. John Goetsch, page 22

When you realize that your sin in your mind is against a holy God, then there is hope for you.

“Nothing will change as long as we compare ourselves with the status quo of humanity around us. We probably stack up pretty well compared to the majority, but to do so is a huge mistake. …We must place ourselves next to A Living God; A Longsuffering God; and A Lawful God. When we do, we'll quickly see the need for A Changed Mind.