Mind Renewal Part 3
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2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,
14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the former lusts which were yours in your ignorance,
Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:23, 1 Peter 1:14
Last week we talked about strongholds, what they are, and were they come from. This week we are going to talk about how to renew our mind and begin to destroy those strongholds.
A) Our culture that we live in as a whole no longer holds a Biblical world view.
Cultural Research Center of Barna Group did a survey on our nations world view.
16. 70% of American’s identify as Christians but only 6% of Americans hold a Biblical world view.
Whats fascinating is that such a large group identifies as Christian and yet denies the Bible.
The only way we know what it means to be a Christian comes from the Bible.
The reason we understand and preach the Gospel is because its in the Bible.
The only way I know God sent His only Son is because I have read it in the Bible.
A few possible explanations for the disconnect:
They are Christians but haven’t had their mind renewed to the Word of God yet.
They do know what God’s Word says but are not a doer of the Word.
They believe they are Christians are not or they do not have have the Spirit of God in them bringing conviction.
The societal shift toward non-Christian worldviews like postmodernism, Marxism, secular humanism, and modern mysticism is most clearly reflected in values, the report continues.
Citing previous research, Barna went on to explain that the dominant values in the United States today are acceptance, comfort, control, entertainment, entitlement, experiences, expression, freedom, and happiness.
Those contemporary values highlight the profound contrast from previous eras in which a more widely accepted biblical worldview yielded civic duty, hard work, humility, faith, family, moderation and the rule of law.
B)
When it comes time to make a decision that we are going to change, it’s going to be met with resistance. Like the tire rut in the pastor that has dried. Its going to be met with resistance when you try to steer out of that rut. The battle begins when you start resisting those tempting thoughts.
Illistration:
Imagine your mind is a pot of coffee.
Because you chose to mix coffee grounds with the water, the liquid is dark and dirty. There is no way you can filter out the coffee from the water.
Now suppose there is a bowl of crystal clear ice next to the pot. Each day, you take one ice cube and put it in the pot. At first you do not notice any difference, but as you add one cube per day, there will come a time when you won’t be able to taste, smell, or see the coffee in the pot.
Although the coffee is still there, the ice has diluted it. This method will only work if you don’t also keep adding a scoop of coffee every day.
17. To rid our minds of filth, we must read, study, and meditate on the Word of God every day.
18. We don’t try and “fix” those thoughts but replace them with God’s word.
Again we do not deny them or that they have never happened nor the hurt that came from it. If the indicator light comes on the dashboard of our vehicle, putting a piece of tape on it will not take care of the problem. We must get under the hood to find out whats going on. We are to be real with what we are going through.
We do not focus on the negative but the truth. We take the Word of God and override those areas that we need healing from. We don’t probe those hurts which will only reinforce it but we begin to renew our mind to the answer.
19. We acknowledge the reality of what we are going through but we fight it with the Truth. We make truth final authority in our life.
20. Were there is darkness we turn on the light.
God will bring a certain mindset to our attention and this is how we deal with it. We renew our minds. This is repentance.
13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead,
Make the decision to stop wallowing in regret about something that’s in the past and that you can’t do anything about now. It’s time for you to shake off that negative focus of what you didn’t do right.
The word “forgetting” is taken from the Greek word epilanthano, which is a compound of the words epi and lanthano.
The first part of this Greek compound word is epi, which in this context denotes a turning, as in turning from one thing to focus on something else. The second part of this compound word is the word lanthano, which comes from a root that describes something that is finished, done with, or obsolete.
Portrays the idea of something you should turn away from and forget. When used in a passive sense, it pictures something to be put aside, deliberately ignored, purposefully disregarded, and completely forgotten.
It denotes something that may have really been true in the past, but is no longer applicable. If you were to paraphrase this word in today’s language, you could say: “Stop thinking about it! Put it out of your mind. Put it behind you, wipe it out, and erase it from your memory. Get it out of your system; quit paying attention to it; get your eyes off of it; be oblivious to it; and forget about it!”
The word “behind” is the Greek word opiso, which categorically describes something so obsolete that it should be permanently relegated to the back or to the past, abandoned, or left behind.
This is something in your past that you’ve repented of and should be left in the past. It is behind you, and you are never to turn around to look at and focus on it again. In other words, the Greek word opiso means, “Leave it behind and never revisit it!”
21. If you’ve repented for past failures, it’s time for you to turn them loose and let them go!
C) Its not enough to think about Scripture. We must do it.
We retain 10% of what we hear, 20% of what we see, and 90% of what we do.
(James 1:22-25)
22 But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of liberty, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an effectual doer, this man will be blessed in what he does.
22. Shema is the Hebrew word for hear. It means “to hear as though to obey”
(Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
4 “Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! 5 “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. 7 “You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. 8 “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. 9 “You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.