Renewing the Christian
Mind – Part 1
Focusing
Our Attention on the Spirit of Our Minds
Romans 12
Oct 15 2017 AM
Pastor Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland
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I.
Introduction (Romans 12:2)
A.
This morning I want to focus our attention on our minds
1.
What we think about and how we think
2.
Specifically on “renewing your mind”
B.
It is the key to a transformed life
1.
Do you realise that you can be a born again child of God, and basically
never change?
a.
A sincere Christian prays and prays for God to “fix” him - make him a
better person, but nothing changes.
He or she lives in defeat and discouragement and constantly asks,
“Where is God, why does He not help me?”
b.
Most Christians think that if they ask God to forgive them for a sin then
that sin will go away.
c.
The reality is it won’t unless you use God’s Word to change your mind
about yourself and your sin.
d.
True lasting change comes when a person “thinks” from God’s Word.
The Bible calls it “renewing your mind”, as we will see in
Ephesians 4:22-24. When you
change your thinking to God’s way of thinking, then your behaviour
changes. It does not change
until then.
2.
Salvation is designed to fully change us into His image (Rom 8:29; 2Cor
3:18) – His likeness
3.
The only thing holding anyone back is not their lack of money, their lack
of intelligence, or their imperfect religious efforts – it is simply
their way of thinking about things! THEIR WRONG BELIEFS
II.
Background
A.
Your Mind is Amazing
1.
It can do unbelievable things
a.
Remember events, feelings, and even smells from 90 years ago
b.
It can process trillions of calculations a second allowing you to walk a
tightrope, drive at 120kph, catch a falling dish, and change a TV
channel!!!
2.
It is more than a BRAIN in your head
3.
It is MORE than the product of chemicals reacting with each other
4.
More than the result of your upbringing by your parents or your training
at school
5.
More than all your experiences, good and bad
6.
Your mind is all the thoughts and feelings and memories from three areas
of your life:
a.
Physical, chemical reactions between the 86 billion neurons that make up
your memory
b.
Emotional, psychological activity of your soul
c.
And the spiritual activities within your spirit
d.
And at the centre of all that activity is your heart. That’s why the heart
is described is mentioned so often when meditating on God’s words (Psalm
19:14).
B.
But Your Mind is Probably NOT in Good Shape
1.
Plenty of reprobate minds – empty, brain-dead, without reasoning,
abandoned (Romans 1:28)
2.
Full of rebellion against God (Rom 1:29-32)
3.
Carnally, lustfully minded (Romans 8:6,7) – full of adulteries and lusts,
pornography
4.
Wasted minds (Eph 2:3)
5.
Enemies of God in our thinking – always arguing, resisting, closing our
eyes to whatever God is trying to do to get our attention (Col 1:21)
a.
Somebody says, "I can't stop my outbursts. I get really irritated at the
way people treat me. Every day I pray to God, but every day people still
make me angry."
b.
Someone else says, "I can still hear my father saying ‘You'll never amount
to anything! You're good for nothing!" And the damage hangs on, even
decades later.
c.
Another person says, “I can’t shut down my brain! It wears me out every
day! I am so tired of fighting in my head!”
6.
Hey! If you don’t like what goes on inside your head, then this message is
for YOU!
C.
Our way of living is SO easily Conformed instead of Transformed (Rom
12:2)
1.
Conformed means, Shaped by outside pressure
a.
Young men and young ladies growing up today have the hardest time
resisting the pressures of the culture AROUND them, and of chemicals IN
them…
b.
The culture we currently live in presses upon us to conform – to go along
with – to take the shape of the current fads and opinions!
c.
We easily take on the characteristics of whatever is around us
1)
Wear the same kind of clothes as everyone else is wearing because we think
it is cool
2)
Talk the way everyone around us talks – listen to accents – some of that
is learned
d.
We end up THINKING the way everyone around us thinks about things
e.
We even FEEL the way others feel – angry at God
2.
So, God calls for ALL Christians (young and old) to be constantly
TRANSFORMED
3.
Transformed is responding to a pressure that God puts IN the believer
D.
Hey! What you THINK is who you ARE and what you will end up DOING
1.
Such a scary truth!
2.
We live first in our heads
a.
Adultery occurs first in the heart and mind, before it ever happens in a
bed!
b.
Murder occurs first in the head and heart before it makes its way to the
hands
c.
Same with Thievery, Arguing, Fighting, Debating, Bragging, and Mocking
d.
All those actions, were acted out first in our heads!
3.
That’s why God warns that if we don’t keep it clean “upstairs”, we will
REGRETFULLY act out what we have spent too much time thinking about, and
reap destruction (Jer 6:19)!
4.
The Bible says, that Christians need to renew their minds, or else they
will self-destruct (Eph 4:17-24)
E.
Renewing the Mind is key to Changing for the Better – being Transformed!
1.
Transformed – metamorphosis
a.
Changed like an ugly caterpillar into a butterfly
b.
Dramatic change – not just growth. A caterpillar can grow, and still be a
caterpillar
c.
Transformation is NOT a once off event like salvation is
1)
Salvation is God forgiving you once and for all – in an instant
2)
Transformation is God changing you to be like His Son – sometimes a
lifetime
3)
Philp 1:6
d.
But it can be SPED-UP by the renewing of our mind!
2.
Renewing Your Mind Means:
a.
Examples of it word use:
1)
Immigrants talk about “RENEWING their visas” – re-filling their time
allowed in the country
2)
Eye doctors work hard to renew someone’s vision when they have gone blind
– makes it work again
3)
Personal trainers talk about “renewing your strength” – recharging,
restoring it
b.
What is Paul talking about?
c.
Re-filling what has been used up
1)
Like your phone battery when it gets recharged
2)
Putting good thoughts, sound thinking back into your mind after a trauma
d.
Repairing what is broken in your mind
1)
All the hurts and abuses
2)
All the fears
3)
All can be repaired and rebuilt at least in your mind
e.
Restoring your mind to how it was when it was made new at salvation!
1)
Like a marriage when the vows are renewed
f.
To Make Again – start all over if you have to
3.
The important thing here is to find out HOW to renew our minds, so that we
can be fully transformed
F.
Let me show you someone getting a right mind (Mark 5:1-15)
1.
This man hated himself
2.
Had lost all shame
3.
Did not want a home
4.
Loved dead things – always flirting with death
5.
Super natural strength against being restrained or controlled
6.
Stayed away from people
7.
Constantly crying
8.
Cutting himself – seeking to just FEEL something
9.
Filled with about 2,000 demons that drove him crazy
10.
As Jesus purposely approached this broken man, he let
Jesus fix him – defeat the devils, overcome his past, and give him a
right mind – sound, stable, healthy mind (2Tim 1:7)
11.
Just look at the POWER of the gift of a RIGHT mind!
III.
Conclusion
A.
This morning’s study has been about “renewing your mind”
B.
It is the key to a transformed life
1.
Do you realise that you can be a born again child of God, and basically
never change?
2.
Unless you use God’s Word to change your mind about yourself and your sin,
you will stay the same old, stinking, rotten broken, messed up person,
that you hate being!
3.
True lasting change comes when a person “thinks” from God’s Word.
The Bible calls it “renewing your mind
C.
I showed you someone getting a right mind in the Gospel of Mark 5:1-15
1.
This man hated himself
2.
Had lost all shame
3.
Did not want a home
4.
Loved dead things – always flirting with death
5.
Super natural strength against being restrained or controlled
6.
Stayed away from people
7.
Constantly crying
8.
Cutting himself – seeking to just FEEL something
9.
Filled with about 2,000 demons that drove him crazy
10.
As Jesus purposely approached this broken man, he let
Jesus fix him – defeat the devils, overcome his past, and give him a
right mind – sound, stable, healthy mind (2Tim 1:7)
11.
Just look at the POWER of the gift of a RIGHT mind!
12.
Believing the Gospel WORKS folks!
13.
THAT is the kind of mind and LIFE you ought to want to HAVE!
D.
What Kind of Shape is YOUR Mind (your way of thinking) in?
E.
Hey! If you don’t like what goes on inside your head, then this message
is for YOU!
1.
Be ye Transformed – metamorphosis – completely changed
2.
By the Renewing of Your Mind – it Means:
a.
Re-filling what has been used up
b.
Repairing what is broken in your mind
c.
Restoring your mind to how it was when it was made new at salvation!
d.
To Make Again – start all over if you have to
F.
Next Sunday morning, I will show you How to Renew YOUR mind!
G.
Make Sure You Have a New Mind to Work With
H.
Are you saved? Born again? Do you even realise how important it is? |
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