Bible Studies
Today I want to talk for a few minutes about walking in victory, victory over sin and over circumstances.
I wonder how many of us are happy with our Christian lives, are we happy that we are as the bible tells us going from glory to glory?
I wonder how many of us when we got born again thought ‘now that I am born again I am alright, everything will be ok.’
Living a defeated Christian life is the worst place to be on the planet. If you are not born again you have a measure of happiness in the world, if you are walking a victorious Christian life you are full of joy and peace, but if you are walking in defeat you are miserable all the time.
Being born again doesn't mean that you are going to stop a single sin that you have been committing. Nor does being born again prevent you from having all those bad and depressing feelings or circumstances weighing you down. They are all still going to be there.
It must be a terrible shock to a great many born again believers when they realize that nothing has changed, that their life style is still the same, that they are still committing the same old sins, in fact, they are still sinning just as much now as they were before they were ever born again. They must wonder if they ever get born again in the first place.
Once you are born again, God isn't suddenly going to show up and magically change you into a non-sinning happy and contented believer. Once you are born again you are still going to have the same problems that you always had.
Unfortunately for some believers, their spiritual growth stops when they became born again. They feel that now that they are born again, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ are going to keep them out of sin.
The truth is, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ are both there to help us but they will only help and assist us as we do our part. That is why so many believers continue to commit the same old sins and have the same old failings that they had before they were born again.
Prov 23:7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. What are you thinking about, daily, all the time?
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Here the apostle Paul is exhorting us to not be conformed to the pattern of this world, or not to be moulded by the thought patterns of this world. Now that we are born again believers we don’t need to get our information from the world, we don’t need to get our instruction for living from the world; we need to get it from God through his word.
2 Pet 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.
All things for life in the natural and life in the spiritual have been provided for us in redemption. But look at how it is given, through the knowledge of him, and where is the knowledge of him going to come from? It will come through the word of God and fellowship with him.
Don’t be moulded by the world’s thinking but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. What does it mean to renew your mind?
Basically it means that now that we are not of this world anymore we don’t need to think like this world thinks anymore either. We need to think like a child of God, like a new creation, like a true Christian. You see our thinking was moulded by a world that has no place for God in it, sure you often hear references to God in the world but none of them are complimentary and they are certainly not referring to the God of the bible. So we need to renew our minds with truth, the truth of who God really is and what he has planned for us for the rest of our lives.
Don’t be moulded by the world’s way of thinking but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Be transformed, when we are born again we become new creatures, a new species that never existed before (2 Cor 5v17 amp) but we need to know who we are and what we are to become. The only way we can do this is in the word of God and when we find it we need to renew our mind with the information and begin to act like this new information is true and as we renew our minds with the word of God we are transformed, transformed into the person we are destined to be, transformed into the person God wants us to be, renewing your mind brings transformation.
When we start renewing our mind with the Word of God, supernatural change begins to take place. Renewing of the mind is crucial because we will never have the image of what we should be and could be in Christ unless our minds are renewed through the word of God.
It is only as we renew our minds that we are able to prove (to know by experience) the good, acceptable and the perfect will of God.
1. Find out what the word says about you. Oftentimes we have a different set of opinions about ourselves than the word has, we need to find out how God sees us and begin to see ourselves as God sees us.
2. Meditate on what the word says about you, to meditate means to mutter, as you go about your daily business mutter to yourself the things that God says about you, begin to believe them and act like they are true.
3. Speak what the word says about you. When you are faced with something like temptations or trials or just negative thoughts go back and say to the temptation or trial “this is what the word says, this is who I am, this is who God created me to be and I am not listening to you anymore, now I only listen to the word of God.”
Renewing your mind is not easy at the start. But as you continue it becomes a lifestyle. If you let it slip you will have to go back and start again because you will start to get all your negative images back and then you will need to restart the process.
2 Cor 10:4-5 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds ;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
We are involved in warfare; it is a war for our souls or our minds, if we are defeated in our minds then we will live mediocre defeated Christian lives. We don’t need to fight with carnal (fleshly) weapons. God didn’t leave us to fight without weapons; our weapons are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. There are strongholds that we can take in this battle but let us look at where they are so we can be better equipped to take them.
1. Casting down imaginations, where are imaginations, they are in the mind.
2. Every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, where does knowledge exist? They are in the mind.
3. Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, where are thoughts? they are in the mind.
You see all the battles that we have to fight against this enemy begin in the mind. God has given us his weapons to defeat this enemy, it is the word of God, the word of God and the renewing of the mind is the only thing that can cause us to cast down imaginations, cast down the things that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God and take captive our thoughts into the obedience of Christ.
Lie vs. Truth John 8:44, Father of lies John 8:32 the truth shall make you free.
Rom 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Not conforming is not enough, sometimes we spend all our energy not conforming to the world, but renewing your mind will bring transformation.
Ps 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Eph 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.
Eph 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Put on the new man, sometimes people will accuse us of “just putting it on”.
Col 3:10 And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.
Why renew your mind?
1Thes 5:23 And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Heb 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Man is a three part being, spirit soul and body, when we got born again what part of us was born again? Our spirit man is already renewed, our spirit man is already righteous, our spirit man is already blessed with all spiritual blessings but these need to manifest in our lives and they can only do so as our souls or minds prosper.
3 Jn 1:2 Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.
We can only prosper in the things of God in as much as our souls prosper or as we are renewed in the spirit of our minds.
Col 3:16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
James 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
Phil 4:8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Phile 1:6 That the communication of thy faith may become effectual by the acknowledging of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.
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