RENEWING YOUR MIND
SERMON STARTER
I entered into a raging twenty-four hour a day battle the minute I invited Jesus into my heart and mind. The enemy was vicious, intense and unrelenting. No one ever told me what was happening. Satan took opportunity with my immaturity to keep my soul in an uproar. I seldom had peace from the war. The accusations were continuous.
The enemy of our souls knows that our greatest spiritual asset is our minds. This explains why we must learn to renew our minds and refresh them with the power of the Holy Spirit.
Here are some ideas on how to renew and refresh your mind:
1. Don't dwell on every thought that comes to your mind
2. Acknowledge our minds have been broken
9 "The heart is deceitful above all things, And desperately wicked; Who can know it? Jeremiah 17:9 (NKJV)
3. Guard your mind from garbage viewing and thinking
3 I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me. Psalm 101:3 (NKJV)
4. Become a Life-Long Learner
Love Knowledge - Love Learning
The word, "Disciple" in Greek means, "Learner."
5. Read. . .Read. . .Read. . .Read
Read the Bible, never stop. Read a portion daily.
Read from church history. Learn where we have come from so you can understand where we are going.
1. Apostolic Fathers
2. Desert Fathers
3. Ante-Post Nicean Fathers
4. Reformation Leaders
Read Luther, Wesley, Calvin
Reformation Martyrs
5. Revivalists
Read Jonathan Edwards, Whitfield, Finney
Roberts, Moody, R.A. Torrey, Billy Sunday
Today's sermon is about renewing your mind.
Pastor Phil <><<
July 08, 2018 - Sheepfold Ministries
Pastor Phil Roland
RENEWING YOUR MIND
THE BATTLEGROUND IS THE MIND
ROMANS 12:1,2
“The Believer’s mind is the greatest place of Spiritual Warfare. We who follow Christ must be constantly aware of the pitfalls that keep us from maturing in Christ. Growing in Him requires awareness, knowledge and vigilance. Pastor Phil <><<
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV)
The early Christians went into the waters of Christian Baptism renouncing the three enemies of the Christ-Filled life:
Our Three Basic Spiritual Enemies are. . .
I. T H E W O R L D - James 1:27
27 Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from
the world.
A. Cosmos - Fallen World Order - 1 John 2:15-17
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the
world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world--the
lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the
Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of
it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
The NT Greek word for "world" is κόσμος, pronounced, "kos'-mos."
Cosmos is defined as the "orderly, harmonious systematic order of the universe."
1. World's Lies
Politics will create a Utopian World
Our country is better than other countries
Follow our agenda and the world will be better
We know what we're doing
2. World's Values
If I feels good, do it!
If it looks good, it must be good!
Money will buy happiness!
The one with the most toys wins!
You don't need God
Live only in the moment
RENEWING YOUR MIND, cont., p.2
Grab all the gusto you can get!
You're Number One
B. World's Deadly Desensitizing - Gradual Numbing to Danger
The World's Contamination is Gradual and Deadly
1. Hedonism - Man satisfying his own appetites
Every man did what he thought was right in his own eyes
Open Marriage - Promiscuity -
2. Materialism - Acquiring all the stuff that appeals to you
3. Narcissism - It's all about me, the world owes me
4. Godlessness - Man erects shrines to his own Ego
a. The Fool has said in his heart, there is no God
1"The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are
corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none
who does good. Psalm 14:1
b. Foolishness started in 1956, Elimination of Prayer
and Bible Reading in Schools
The Second Basic Spiritual Enemy is . . .
II. T H E F L E S H - 1 Peter 1:22-25 - Isaiah 40:6-8
22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the
Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with
a pure heart, 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but
incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides
forever, 24 because "All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as
the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away,
25 But the word of the LORD endures forever." Now this is the word
which by the gospel was preached to you.
A. Biblical allusions to Flesh is NOT literal Flesh, Blood, Heart, Lungs
1. The Spiritual Flesh involves man w/o God
2. The Flesh is Man in Control, Determining his own future
3. The Flesh Demands self-gratification, self-fulfillment, NOW!
PIG's -
P ersonal
I mmediate
G gratification
B. Adam's disobedience in the Garden of Eden brought Alienation
1. Adam without God. . .
2. Adam without Eve. . .Adam chose alienation:
a. Alienation from God
b. Alienation from Himself
c. Alienation from Eve and Mankind
3. Adam's Sin and Disobedience had Root Causes:
RENEWING YOUR MIND, cont., p.3
a. Selfishness
b. Man Becoming his own God
c. Man in Control - Getting the Last Word
The Third Basic Spiritual Enemy is . . .
III. T H E D E V I L - 1 Peter 5:8
8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
A. The Devil has Persuasive Arguments to Deceive
1. Synonymous names: (Know him by what he does)
Diablos - Malicious Gossip
Satanos - Accuser
Seducer - He seduced Adam and Eve in the Garden
Deceiver
Adversary
Angel of Light - (Hallel, Lucifer, Reflected Glory)
Father of Lies - John 8:44
Beelzebub - Ruler of Devils / Demons
Dragon - Rev. 12:7
God of this world - 2 Cor. 4:3,4
B. Know how our enemy operates
1. OPPRESSION - Attacks from the Outside Thru Emotions
Hopelessness /Despair
2. OBSESSION - Penetrating the Mind (Flaming Arrows)
a. Unresolved Hostility Grants a Foothold - Eph. 4:26,27
26 "In your anger do not sin": Do not let the sun go down while
you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.
b. Satan’s “Flaming Arrow” Enters the Mind - Eph. 6:16
16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be
able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.
3. BONDAGE - Enslaves and Cripples the Will
a. Bondage Involves a Yoke - Gal. 5:1
1 Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.
b. Satan's Yoke is any Addictive Agent:
Substance Abuse - Sexual Abuse - All Excesses
c. Bondage Enslaves to Sin -Yoke is an Addictive Agent
34 Jesus answered them, "Most assuredly, I say to you,
whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. John 8:34 (NKJV)
C. RENEW YOUR MIND DAILY - James 4:7,8
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you
sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (Twin-Souled)
Listen to Godly music - Read and Meditate on God's Word - Read Inspirational Christian Classics - Pray - Pray - Pray some more!
Use the 3-R's: Recognize - Refuse - Replace all thots w/ Godly Thots
RENEWING YOUR MIND, Text:
Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV)
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
GOD'S WORD REWIRES YOUR BRAIN
Doctors Avi Karni and Leslie Ungerleider of the National Institute of Mental Health did a fascinating study asking subjects to perform a simple motor task—a finger-tapping exercise. As subjects tapped, the doctors conducted an MRI to identify what part of the brain was being activated. The subjects then practiced the finger-tapping exercise daily for four weeks. At the end of the four-week period, the brain scan was repeated. In each instance, it revealed that the area of the brain involved in the task had expanded. That simple task—finger-tapping exercise—literally recruited new nerve cells and rewired neuronal connections.
When we read Scripture, we are recruiting new nerve cells and rewiring neuronal connections. In a sense, we are downloading a new operating system that reconfigures the mind…
When we read Scripture, we engage in spiritual tapping. Our brains are rewired in alignment with the Word, and we develop the mind of Christ. We think His thoughts.1
Mark Batterson, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day: How to Survive and Thrive When Opportunity Roars (Multnomah, 2016), 50.
Renew Your Mind
According to an October 29, 1994, story from the Reuters news agency, a Chinese woman named Zhang Meihua began to suffer mysterious symptoms when she turned twenty. She was losing the ability to nimbly move her legs and arms. Doctors could not find the cause, and the symptoms continued.
Two decades passed, and Zhang began to also suffer from chronic headaches. Again she sought help from the doctors. This time a CAT scan and an X ray found the source of the woman's mysterious symptoms. A rusty pin was lodged in her head. The head of the pin was outside the skull, and the shaft penetrated into her brain. Doctors performed surgery and successfully extracted the pin.
The Xinhua news agency reported the doctors expressed amazement that the woman "could live for so long a time with a rusty pin stuck in her brain." After noting the position of the pin in her skull, they speculated that the pin had entered her skull sometime soon after birth and before her skull had hardened. Zhang, now fully recovered, said she "had no memory of being pierced by a pin in the head."
Like the rusty pin in that woman's brain, unwholesome thoughts, bad attitudes, and painful memories can lodge in our minds and cause chronic problems. God tells us to renew our minds.
I. THE BELIEVER LOSES GROUND TO THE ENEMY -
A. Through the Un-renewed Mind That Dwells in Darkness -
1. Deceived by the Mind Blinder - 2 Cor. 4:4
2. Mind is Veiled and Dull - 2 Cor. 3:14
3. Follows the Sinful Nature’s Desires - Ephesians 2:3-7
4. Enemies in Our Minds - Colossians 1:21
B. Through the Carnal Mind That Dwells Upon the Flesh - Rom. 8:6
C. By Lies and Deception Admitted to the Mind
D. By the Passivity of the Mind
1. The Marble in the Box
2. Easily Used by the Enemy
II. FOUR CHARACTERISTICS OF DEMONIC INFILTRATION -
A. OPPRESSION - Attacks from the Outside Thru Emotions
1. Hopelessness
2. Despair
B. OBSESSION - Penetrating the Mind
1. Unresolved Hostility Grants a Foothold - Eph. 4:26,27
2. Satan’s “Flaming Arrow” Has Entered the Mind - Eph. 6:16
C. BONDAGE - Enslaves and Cripples the Will
1. Bondage Involves a Yoke - Gal. 5:1
2. Bondage Enslaves to Sin -Yoke is an Addictive Agent-John 8:33
D. POSSESSION - Complete Capitulation to the Enemy
1. Death and Destruction - John 10:10
2. Satan May Do as he Wills
III. GOD’S COVENANT: PROMISE OF DELIVERANCE - Heb. 8:10
A. RENEWED MINDS - Rom.12:2; Eph. 3:13
B. THE MIND OF CHRIST - Phil 2:5
There are three Basic Enemies in Spiritual Warfare
1) World
2) Flesh
3) Devil
FLESH
Isaiah 40:5-8 (NKJV)
5 The glory of the LORD shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; For the mouth of the LORD has spoken."
6 The voice said, "Cry out!" And he said, "What shall I cry?" "All flesh is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass.
8 The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever."
Isaiah 40:6-8 - All flesh is grass
6 The voice said, "Cry out!" And he said, "What shall I cry?" "All flesh
is grass, And all its loveliness is like the flower of the field.
7 The grass withers, the flower fades, Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it; Surely the people are grass. 8 The grass
withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever."
1 Peter 1:22-25
22 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the
Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with
a pure heart, 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but
incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides
forever, 24 because "All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as
the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away,
25 But the word of the LORD endures forever." Now this is the word
which by the gospel was preached to you. 1 Peter 1:22-25
Temporal
People in their Fourth Decade of life go outwardly from Young to Old
James 4:7-8 (NKJV)
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
WORLD'S CONTAMINATION
1. Eg. The Frog and the Beaker Experiment
a. Beaker filled with hot H2O, Frog Jumps Out
b. Put Frog in warm H2O, gently apply heat, Boiled Frog
2. The "World" "Kos-Mos" uses Time and Repetition
3. Like Russian Behavioral Scientist, Pavlov and the Dog
a. Used a Bell, a can of Dog food, Dog's Saliva response
b. Classical Conditioning: Dog Salivates at sound of bell
D. The Cosmos has a Deadly Hierarchy of Worldly Power
(The ability to Control your own Environment)
