Renewing your mind

Richard Chamberlain

rdcltci@gmail.com

http://rdcltci.wordpress.com

Monday 10 January 2011

Transformation

A little context


I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the
mercies of God, to present your bodies as
a living sacriﬁce, holy and acceptable to
God, which is your spiritual worship. Do
Romans 12:1-2
not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewal of your mind,
that by testing you may discern what is the
will of God, what is good and acceptable
and perfect.


I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the
mercies of God, to present your bodies as
a living sacriﬁce, holy and acceptable to
God, which is your spiritual worship. Do
not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewal of your mind,
that by testing you may discern what is the
will of God, what is good and acceptable
and perfect.


And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the
test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit
eternal life?" He said to him,"What is written in
the Law? How do you read it?" And he
answered, "You shall love the Lord your
Luke 10:25-28
God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your strength
and with all your mind, and your neighbor
as yourself." And he said to him, "You have
answered correctly; do this, and you will live."


And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the
test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit
eternal life?" He said to him,"What is written in
the Law? How do you read it?" And he
answered, "You shall love the Lord your
God with all your heart and with all
your soul and with all your strength
and with all your mind, and your neighbor
as yourself." And he said to him, "You have
answered correctly; do this, and you will live."


Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea
Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say
that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say
John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others
Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them,
Matthew 16:13-23
"But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter
replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you,
Simon Bar-Jonah! For ﬂesh and blood has not
revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.


Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea
Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say
that the Son of Man is?" And they said, "Some say
John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others
Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them,
"But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter
replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God." And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you,
Simon Bar-Jonah! For ﬂesh and blood has not
revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.


And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I
will build my church, and the gates of hell shall
not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of
the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind
on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever
you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."
Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no
one that he was the Christ.


From that time Jesus began to show his disciples
that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things
from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be
killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took
him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it
from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you." But
he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan!
You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting
your mind on the things of God, but on the things of
man."


From that time Jesus began to show his disciples
that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things
from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be
killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took
him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it
God is not nice!
from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you." But
he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan!
You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting
your mind on the things of God, but on the things of
man."


For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the
LORD.
Isaiah 55:8-9 earth,
For as the heavens are higher than the
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.


For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the
LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.


The essence of
idolatry is the
entertainment of
thoughts about God
that are unworthy
of Him.
A. W. Tozer

Renewing your
mind


The
dangerous
alternatives
to a
renewed
mind

1) A Debased Mind
"And even as they did not
like to retain God in their
knowledge, God gave them
over to a debased (depraved
- NIV) mind, to do those
things which are not ﬁtting."
(Romans 1:28)


The Message ...rampant evil, grabbing and
grasping, vicious backstabbing...envy, wanton
killing, bickering, and cheating....mean-spirited,
venomous, fork-tongued God-bashers. Bullies,
swaggerers, insufferable windbags! They keep
inventing new ways of wrecking lives. They ditch
their parents when they get in the way. Stupid,
slimy, cruel, cold-blooded.


2) A Blinded Mind

"Whose mind the god of this age has
blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of
the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the
image of God, should shine on them."

(2 Cor 4:4)


3) A Futile Mind

"You should no longer walk as the rest of
the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their
mind."

(Eph. 4:17)


4) A Hostile Mind

"7 The mind governed by
the ﬂesh is hostile to
God; it does not submit
to God’s law, nor can it
do so."

(Romans 8:7 NIV)


5) A Double Mind

"Let not that man
suppose that he will
receive anything from
the Lord; he is a
double-minded man,
unstable in all his ways."

(James 1:5 - 8)


6) A Feeble Mind

"Now we exhort you,
brethren, warn those who
are unruly, comfort the
fainthearted (lit: feeble-
minded), uphold the weak,
be patient with all."

(1 Thess 5:14)


Why we need a
Renewed Mind


1) The Key To
Transformation
Romans 12: 1 - 2
Php 4:13
2 Cor. 5:17


2) Important in
Spiritual Warfare

2 Corinthians 10:4 - 5

3) Necessary for
Faith

James 1:5 - 6


4) For Ongoing
Spiritual
Development

Ephesians 4:17 - 24

5) To Know the
Will of God

Romans 12:2


6) For A Proper
Knowledge Of Self

Romans 12:3

7) Inward Peace
And Stability

Philippians 4:6


How can our Minds
be Renewed?


1. Choices
Die - a Living Sacriﬁce
Lk 9:23...he said to all,
"If anyone would come
after me, let him deny
himself and take up his
cross daily and follow me.
Lk 9:57-62

Habits
- what do you do?
- do you think about
things?
- do you ask questions?
- do you ‘sharpen’ men
of God


The things that
Habits
captivate our hearts
- what do you do?
- do you think about
will dominate our
things?
thoughts, and our
- do you ask questions?
thoughts will
- do you ‘sharpen’ men
dominate our lives.
of God
Matt 6:21


Routines - when do you
pray, read, meditate, talk...?
Php 4:8...whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever is
right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is
admirable—if anything is
excellent or praiseworthy—
think about such things.
- do you think about the
right things?

2. Holy Spirit

Ask - Luke 11:9ff
Filled - Eph 5:18
Fruit - Gal
5:22-23


Walk - Holy Spirit
Leads you...
- to Jesus - where is
your focus - ministry
or Master?
- in God’s paths - Jesus
in the wilderness, Philip
to the desert road,
Paul to Macedonia,
Gal 5:16, 18

Dangers in our
fellowship with the Holy
Spirit

Remember -
The Holy Spirit is a Person


Eph 4:30…And do not grieve the
Holy Spirit of God, with whom you
were sealed for the day of
redemption

How can we can grieve
him?


Eph 4:31…Get rid of all bitterness,
rage and anger, brawling and slander,
along with every form of malice...


Acts 5:3,4…Then Peter said,
“Ananias, how is it that Satan has so
ﬁlled your heart that you have lied to
the Holy Spirit and have kept for
yourself some of the money you
received for the land?


…Didn’t it belong to you before it was
sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the
money at your disposal? What made
you think of doing such a thing? You
have not lied to men but to God.”


1Thess 5:19

Do not put out
the Spirit’s ﬁre


1Thess 5:20

…do not treat
prophecies with
contempt. Test
everything. Hold on to
the good


Acts 7:51

You stiff-necked people,
with uncircumcised
hearts and ears! You are
just like your fathers:You
always resist the Holy
Spirit!


Heb 10:29…Anyone
who rejected the law of
Moses died without
mercy on the testimony
of two or three
witnesses. How much
more severely do you
think a man deserves to
be punished who has
trampled the Son of God
under foot

Heb 10:29…who has treated as
an unholy thing the blood of the
covenant that sanctiﬁed him, and
who has insulted the Spirit of grace?


“The Spirit of God acts with
considerable disturbing effect. It is
part of his nature to do so.”
Donald Guthrie,
NT Theology


“The work of the Holy Spirit is to
manifest the active presence of
God in the world, and especially
in the church”
Wayne Grudem,
Systematic Theology


3. Scripture
Heb 4:12, Gen 1, Isa
55:8ff
Read - when, where,
how much?
Memorise - Ps 119:11,
Prov. 10:14, 18:15


Study - complacency is
a real danger in ministry,
have you stopped
studying - do you wait
on God?
Application - James
1: 22ff doers of the
word / “Never,
Matt 7:24ff wise & never, never,
foolish builders never give up”

“There is only one
thing that keeps
most churches from
prospering spiritually.
They have yet to ﬁnd
God.”
Francis Frangipane

Renewing your mind

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