Transforming your mind

Mindset: noun. a habitual or characteristic mental attitude that determines how you will interpret and respond to situations.

How we react to situations is one of the most important things in our life.

We are faced daily with trying circumstances that will test our faith and patience.

How many of you know that our actions are a reflection of our heart.

School is fixing to start back up.

If i have a kid who is constantly sleeping in class, the action that I see is him sleeping, but that is not the root of the problem.

Their action could be caused by an issue at home...

Football season is fixing to start.

We judge a team based off of wins and losses. Winning does not happen on accident. What you see on Friday nights is a reflection of the time and effort put in.

Doesn’t mean that we are perfect, but what we display is a reflection of who we are.

The way that we react to life is a reflection of our heart.

It is not about going through the 100s of situations that we face daily and focusing on handling them correctly, If our heart is aligned in the right spot, we should naturally produce fruit.

The reason I wrote this message… Story of Scottie.

2 Corinthians 4 “Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you. Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

Lets Pray this morning.

Hope in the Cross

The perspective that we go through life with has to be one that is rooted in the good news of Jesus.

When I think about a story in the bible where someone in spite of their circumstances lived with joy, I think of Paul and Silas in prison.

Acts 16:16–24 ESV

As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.” And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And it came out that very hour. But when her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers. And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city. They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.” The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely. Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks.

It says that Paul was annoyed, beaten, tired, and then placed in prison. The perfect storm.

We would be overwhelmed, overstimulated.

Paul was living on borrowed time. Paul understood that he was given a gift that changed everything.

Ephesians 2:1–5 “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—”

Paul understood the miracle of the grace Grace of God. And it was enough to give him joy in every circumstance.

It says that we were dead in our trespasses and sins, but God being rich in mercy made us alive.

Paul understood that no matter what the world tried to do to him it did not matter because it was by the Grace of God what he has life.

They could try to kill him, but he didn’t care because we are dead without God anyways.

Paul’s life was rooted in the hope of the Cross

I love how Paul describes it in Galatians 5:1 “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”

He describes what Christ has done for us as giving us freedom. We were a slave to sin and this world, but because of the Cross we no longer have to be slaves. We can be free.

Imagine the joy of being held captive and being enslaved then receiving freedom. That is our story.

The most difficult part of living our life overflowing with the fruits of the spirit is our own decision to remain caption to the things of this world.

We see God free the Israelite's from slavery but they refused to turn away from the ways of bondage and live free.

If we want to live our life with Joy and overflowing with the fruits of the spirit it begins with rooting ourselves in the hope of salvation. That God has given us life and freedom. And that gift is more than we will ever need.

Flesh vs. Spirit

Galatians 5:16–26 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.”

We have to make a decision to walk by the spirit or by the flesh.

We have to understand two things.

We can not do both

It says the works of the flesh are against the spirit and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh. They oppose each other.

2. Both choices have consequences

When we walk by the flesh it leads us to death and when we walk by the spirit I produces the fruit of the spirit and will lead to the inheritance of the kingdom of God.

The works of the flesh are sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.

Colby can you live a certain way and still be a Christian.

The bible is very clear. These things are works of the flesh and are in opposition to the spirit.

Some of us wonder why we don’t have peace and patience and kindness and gentleness and we struggle to handle things when they come up in life.

We are lead by the flesh and not the spirit.

Here is what being lead by the flesh is. These are all things that prioritizes and elevate your self over God.

Being lead by the spirit elevates God and others.

At the beginning we read

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

We as believers have to have a kingdom mindset.

Everything that we do has to be focused on God and his kingdom and the only way to do that is to be led by the spirit.

Fruit of the spirit

When we live our lives with a kingdom mindset we produce the fruit of the spirit.