The Renewing of the Mind
The Renewing of the Mind
The Kingdom of God must find expression in our every day lives.
It is true that the change that should take place in a believer is a radical and revolutionary one. When you are born again, He doesn’t turn everything upside down - that is how you used to live before Christ. In the new birth, Christ Jesus will “turn you right side up”.
He is making all things new.
Everything changes. There will be personal change. You will talk and act differently and in a manner that glorifies the King of Kings. Your attitude on the job will vastly improve. The Word will shape your perspective of relationships and people. You will have agape love flowing to your neighbors. You will become an ambassador representing the Lord Himself, desiring to bring virtually everyone you meet into a fresh encounter with the Anointed One!
Home, Sweet Home! The atmosphere of your home will change because it will be under new management. When the Prince of Peace reigns over a house, peace will prevail and overflow. Relationships between spouses will be restored. Children will be greatly impacted as God intervenes in the home and in their parents.
Money cometh! You will become a giver instead of a taker. You will perceive the use of your money in a new light and, as you act upon the kingdom principles of giving and receiving, will experience the abundance of our God as He makes all grace abound to you. You will have all that you need and plenty to sow into every good work.
This is the kingdom of God in you – His rule, His Lordship finding expression in new and radical ways.
I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice – the kind He will accept. When you think of what He has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don’t copy the behavior and customs of the world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is. Romans 12:1-2
How does all this change take place? Change Your Way of Thinking!
Remember that you are a spirit that has a soul and lives in a body. Why is this important? Because when we understand how we were made, we have insight to understand the process of transformation and change. Your spirit was made new at the moment of salvation. The Bible says your spirit cannot sin, that it is incorruptible, and that it is alive by resurrection power. Your spirit is “saved”. Your body will be saved at the return of Christ. I Corinthians 15 speaks of this corruptible body putting on the incorruptible. The spirit is accounted for and the body, but what about the soul? The soul itself is divided in three – mind, emotions, and will. The verse above gives us the key to understand how this radical transformation takes place in the believer. We are changed into something we never were before by the renewing of the mind. You see, to try to effect change at the body level only leads to frustration and despair. The body level represents the tangible outward expressions of what is the inner man – your words, actions, reactions – the things you do. The Bible sometimes refers to this as fruit or deeds done in the body.
Jesus said, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” If you approach change at the level of the body, in this case the speaking mouth, it’s too late! What came out of your mouth came forth from the inner man. To change the fruit of your lips, you must change what is on deposit in the heart and in the mind. Watching what you say has a little value, but will be unproductive activity until the content of your heart and mind is changed.
As Romans 12 says, we must make the decision to glorify God in our bodies. The change takes place at a deeper level when you “let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.”
Here’s a basic blue print for the process of transformation in you:
1. Your spirit must dominate your flesh. If not, there will be division and warring inside you. How do you know you are in the spirit and not in the flesh? Are you feeding your spirit or the flesh? By aligning the words of your mouth and the thoughts of your mind with the Word of God and praying the Word into your heart, you release your spirit to take the lead. This will bring your whole being – spirit, soul, and body – into agreement and into proper order under the Lordship of Jesus Christ.
2. Whichever dominates – spirit or flesh - has control over the mind.
3. The spiritual mind leads to life. (The carnal mind leads to death.)
4. Emotions start to line up with the renewed thinking which affects the will. The will strengthens and begins to make new choices for righteousness. When you walk in the spirit, you crucify the flesh.
5. The body follows whichever is in control, in your case the spiritual mind. The Kingdom of God is now being expressed through you!
The more this process takes place, the brighter will the glory of God shine forth from your life. This is how the glory of the Lord covers the earth and how the lordship over this city of Miami will be changed.