The Mind
Isa 61:3
3 ….that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified.
Rom 7:23-25
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind(spirit/soul), and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind(spirit/soul) I (have chosen) myself (to) serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. (KJV)
· Whatever we have our minds(spirit/soul) set on we will have in our lives!
Rom 8:5-13
5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds(spirit/soul) set on(in agreement with) what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds(spirit/soul) set on(in agreement with) what the Spirit desires.
6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace;
7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.
8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.
10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness.
11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation-- but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it.
13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,
Matt 22:37
37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' (NIV)
· Unless we do with this dedication, we will not make it!
Mark 8:27-38
27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, "Who do people say I am?"
28 They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets."
29 "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ."
30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him.
31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.
32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him.
33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
· Here in Matthew we have recorded something else what Jesus said to Peter!
Matt 16:17-19
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. (KJV)
· WOW can you see what is in these verses? Jesus is saying that if we grasp this way of thinking, this way of getting revelation knowledge from God we will have the keys to the kingdom of God and by this principle God will build his Church and Satan cannot stop it!
1. Stop receiving revelation from flesh and blood and get it from the father
2. Upon this foundation(of revelation knowledge) He will build his church
3. He will give us the keys to the kingdom
· How do we get the mind to obey the word of God?
1. Develop the Fruit of the Spirit!
2. Change what we will feed into our minds.
3. Make a decision based on the revealed knowledge of God.
4. Bring our mouths into line with our decisions.
Develop the fruit of the Spirit!
Gal 5:16-25
16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
19 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith(fulness),
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. (KJV)
1 Cor 13:4-8a
4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;
5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;
6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails….
· This is a statement about love NOT how love should act but, how love acts!
· So is the fruit of the spirit! You do not go to a fruit tree each year and remind it to produce fruit, do you?(Gen.1:11)
· Most of us do not sin consciously! We do it many times without thinking, because like Paul in Ro.7 we have found a law, one that produces sin in us, all we have to do is yield to it. Just like this we can have another ruling Law in us, the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus, We can be fruit led too.
· A THOUGHT: New fruit is produced by planting seed, Like fruit is produced by planting branches(taking from the vine itself).
Matt 7:16-21
16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Matt 3:7-11
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?
8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:
9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.
10 And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:
· You will only produce what you are, not what you know!
Matt 12:33-35
33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.
34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.(KJV)
Change what we will feed into our minds.
· You can never go further than what you feed into your mind. In your mind you set your own limitations. You determine whether your thoughts are spiritual ones or natural ones. Does that mean we are not allowed to just relax and do other thngs? 1 Cor 6:12 "Everything is permissible for me"-- but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible for me"-- but I will not be mastered by anything. (NIV)
We are not talking about Law. You can do what you want to, But why would you intentionaly limit and hinder yourself unless you did not know you were doing it or that it was not important?
Phil 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy-- meditate on these things.
Isa 26:3(Matt.22:37)
3 You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
John 6:63
63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. (NIV)
Make a decision based on the revealed knowledge of God
Deut 30:19
19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: (KJV)
Prov 1:22-33
22 "How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge.
23 Turn at my rebuke; surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.
24 Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded,
25 Because you disdained all my counsel, and would have none of my rebuke,
26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes,
27 When your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me.
29 Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the LORD,
30 They would have none of my counsel and despised my every rebuke.
31 Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled to the full with their own fancies.
32 For the turning away of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil." (NKJ)
Bring our mouths into line with our decisions
1 Cor 2:6-7 + 13
6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:
13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. (KJV)
2 Cor 4:13
13 We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; (KJV)
Prov 18:7
7 A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul. (KJV)
Prov 18:20-21
20 A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled.
21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
· Sow what you want to grow! Graft what you want to be!
Mark 4:14
14 "The sower sows the word.
Rom 10:9-10
9 That if you (continually)confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and (continually) believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. (NIV)
James 3:1-12
1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.
2 For in many things we offend all. If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.
3 Behold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.
4 Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.
5 Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things. Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth!
6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.
7 For every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed of mankind:
8 But the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
9 Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
10 Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be.
11 Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
12 Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.(KJV)
· Change the source!