Series: Mastermind Week 3: Change My Mind
EVERY STEP TOWARD GODLINESS AND EVERY STEP TOWARD SIN BEGINS WITH A THOUGHT. Godliness is premeditated. Sin is premeditated.
DISTORTED WORSHIP LEADS TO DISTORTED THINKING WHICH LEADS TO DISTORTED PASSIONS WHICH LEAD TO DISTORTED LIVING. Your worship will always inform your thinking & your thinking will always inform your heart & your passions will always inform the way that you actually make choices and live life.
ROMANS 12:1-2
GOD DESIRES A LIVING SACRIFICE: Means in Greek “a living killing”. WE PUT TO DEATH THE RIGHT TO LIVE AS WE CHOOSE, the notion that somehow, we belong to ourselves. It feels like death, but it leads to life.
What is a living sacrifice? Being a living sacrifice means:
1) ALL MY BODY (12:1) Greeks believed mind was everything. Why is this important? Our beliefs and our feelings can’t do anything except through our body
2) ALL MY MIND (12:2-3) God doesn’t want just our activity. He you to lay down your thought patterns before Him.
3) ALL MY SERVICE (12:1) “True and Proper Worship” The context of passage is service. Romans 12:6-8. There should be no unemployed Christ-followers when it comes to service. We’re all called to serve. God wants our activity. He wants our service. He wants our actions. He wants our lives to count. And to count primarily in the body of Christ.
OUR SOUL HAS BEEN CHANGED BY JESUS, BUT OUR FLESH BATTLES US CONSTANTLY. AND THAT BATTLE TAKES PLACE IN THE MIND. ROMANS 12:2 The battle is long before the action. The true battle, the determining battle is in the mind.
Good News—OUR SOUL’S ALLIES IN THE BATTLE ARE THE WORD & THE HOLY SPIRIT. They will always support, always stabilize and always energize what you’re redeemed heart craves.
Bad News—OUR FLESH’S ALLIES IN THE BATTLE ARE THE WORLD & THE DEVIL. Satan & the systems of this world are constantly supporting, even stabilizing, & energizing our flesh.
HOW DO I RENEW MY MIND?
- RESIST THE PATTERNS OF THE WORLD (12:2a) Phillips translation: “Don’t let the world squeeze you into its mold.” Greek literally: Stop living according to the world. Tension: Christ is in us, but we still live in the world. The messages of this world move us off of the message of Christ.
- PREPARE FOR TRANSFORMATION IN GOD’S WORD. (12:2a-b) Transformation—things seen on the outside, only because it took root on the inside. 12:2—the mind is the control center for transformation. Next level spiritual maturity is moving from what can I learn to what can I obey. If you read God’s Word just to learn things, you’ll be very informed. But if you read God’s word to surrender things, you’ll be very transformed.
- EXERCISE THIS NEW MIND. (12:2c) Christ redeems our mind. He changes the way that we think. We’ve have this tendency to think that about Christ coming in terms of changing our hearts and we forget also that he came to change the way that we think, the patterns of our thoughts.
- LIVE A JESUS-CENTERED LIFE (12:2d)
- ENJOY JESUS. You can’t enjoy life in Christ without enjoying Jesus. You can’t enjoy your freedom and your joy that you have in Christ, without enjoying Jesus Himself.
- SUBMIT TO JESUS. Jesus, whatever you’re calling me to do, whoever you’re calling me to be, my answer is yes. I surrender. God, I’m not going to be so shallow to ask you to save me, but then tell you, you’re not going to lead me. This is submission to Jesus.
- STUDY JESUS’ TRUTH. Make it a discipline every day. All of us, every day you look at ourselves in the mirror. And I think, I hope you brush your teeth every day. It’s just a discipline. What if God’s word was just as much of a discipline of our lives, being in God’s word, as seeing that we look like in the morning or brushing our teeth before we leave the house?
- SURRENDER TO JESUS’ MISSION. What’s the mission of Jesus? The mission of Jesus is that All might know of this God who saves through Christ. Ultimately the mission of Jesus is the glory of God.
When all those things are firing. We’re enjoying Jesus. We’re submitted to Jesus. We’re in His truth. We’re on his mission. Then were living in His will, and it’s good and acceptable and perfect. In fact, so much so that it is more satisfying than anything this world has to offer.
We’re then able to discern His will for our lives. Our lives are transitioned into His will. It’s not a distorted life. It’s not a dysfunctional life. It’s not unhealthy. It is a pure life, a life that’s free to obey. A Life that is free to worship the King.