AHF S15 (2) RENEWING YOUR MIND (1)
In our last study, we established that there is a program and a process with a purpose. The program is: don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed. To be transformed takes a process, and the purpose of the process is to make proof what is the will of God — that which is good, acceptable and perfect.
The Antidote for Conformity
The antidote to being conformed to the world is not by following rules and regulations. Rather, you have to be transformed. This transformation is not primarily physical but spiritual. This is what safeguards against sinful conformation. When you are transformed, there is no need for Pharisaical righteousness, you can relate with anyone anywhere. Their kind of righteousness distant themselves from sinners even though they are sinners, but they clothe themselves with religious regalia which gives an impression that they are holy.
What It Means to be Transformed
The correct life is an inward transformation which secures you from sinful conformation. Daniel was transformed inside with his friends, that was why they could not eat the king’s dainties. Joseph was transformed inwardly, that was why he could not play along with Mrs Portiphar, he could not do what other slaves were doing in the house of Potiphar. This same reason made him stand out from other inmates in the prison.
When a person is transformed spiritually (inwardly), his comportment in his interpersonal relationship differs from others. He doesn’t eat, drink, dress, or go to places the way other people does. Not because someone is monitoring him or there is a rule guiding him, rather, it is an inward transformation. This transformation takes process, and it is a continuous experience.
The dedication of the body is an act, the transformation of the mind is a process which is to be done by both God and the individual. Dedication takes just one day, within a couple of minutes. But for our mind to be renewed, it doesn’t happen in a jiffy. No miracle can fast track it. It takes time and we must collaborate with God for our minds to be renewed.
Our faculty of discernment functions faulty, hence it must be renewed. We are to will that it is so, but the Holy Spirit does the work in us. The will is ours, the work of renewing of our mind is achieved by the Holy Spirit.
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us by the washing of regeneration, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost.
Titus 3:5
The Process of Transformation
The process of transformation which is the renewing of your mind, speaks of the relationship between God and you. When your car breaks down, you need to go to the mechanic workshop to lodge your complaints, else no one would attend to your car except you bring it for diagnoses.
Likewise, when you are sick, the doctor does not know what is wrong with you except you present yourself for medical diagnoses, then whatever ailment you have can be attended to. In the same vane, you must determine to present your mind to God. You must understand and agree that your mind functions faulty. It specializes in thinking on the things of the world. It doesn’t permit you to do what you know is right to do under God and to stand in faith as you ought to stand.
If you are born again and your mind is not functioning well, it should be a concern to your heart. Hence, you should seek help in that regard. An understanding that your mind needs to be renewed — which is the center of your will power. Your pastor cannot do this for you, neither can disciple-maker. It is solely the work of the Holy Spirit. If you do not present it to Him, it will only mean that you say everything is fine with you.
Jesus told the Pharisees, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. (Matt.9:12). If you refuse to present your mind to the Holy Ghost, your mind will put you in trouble. Your spiritual life will not be healthy and you will not be able to make progress according to the will of God.
If our minds are not renewed, we will not be able to prove what is the will of God. You can’t be in the center of God’s will when you don’t know His will. It is the will of God that you know that you can commit yourself to. By committing yourself to it, you must choose to remain faithful.
The reason we have to submit our minds to the Holy Ghost is to prove what the will of God is — the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God. If your mind is not renewed you will go to hell. Because if you can’t prove the will of God, you can’t do it. Only those who do the will of God shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.
Matthew 7:21
The Lord says “does” not those that “did”. As long as it is called today, you have to do the will of God. However, you cannot enter into doing his will when you have not proven His will. And you can’t prove what is the will of God except your mind is renewed.
The Faculty of Our Mind
When we got born again our spirits were recreated, it received the nature and the life of the Father. But the mind that has held our spirit in captivity is the same old mind; for it never gets born again. There’s a difference between the mind and the new heart that Ezekiel talked about.
All the knowledge that the mind has comes from the senses, which can never be renewed. Our mind is part of the physical body, home for our five senses which we are persuaded to present to God. It must come under the dominion of our recreated spirit through the Word of God. It must recognize the three-fold Lordship through our recreated spirit which is: the Lordship of the Word, the Lordship of Jesus, and the Lordship of Love. It may be difficult for your mind to assimilate and allow this.
Man is a tripartite being — the spirit, soul and the body. It is the spirit that gets born again. God recreates our human spirit at salvation. The soul is in the body, and it’s the centre of the will, emotion and mind. The soul never gets born again and it is the centre of your intellect.
The windows to our mind are our eyes, ears, nose, tongue and our feelings. Your real person is inside. When the eyes see something, your mind interprets what it sees. When your mind tells you that the devil is outside, fear grips you. When your ears hear something, your mind interprets it. The interpretation of your mind will determine whether you are entering into depression or you’d be courageous and jubilate.
When the twelve spies were sent out. Two of them had their minds renewed. To have your mind renewed is to have a different interpretation of matters and issues. Those spies saw the Anakites, they saw the land flowing with milk and honey. They tried to measure and compare their stature. But ten out of the twelve spies saw the Anakites as giants and saw themselves as grasshoppers.
But Caleb and Joshua, who had stepped up into the realm of renewing their mind, had a different interpretation to what they saw, and refuse to think as the others were thinking. They used God’s sense to determine their own conclusion. When God says “I have given you the land” they believed He has given them. Even if someone shows up to claim the land, they’d rather hold on to the word of the highest authority. With the old mind, your predators remain your predators, however, with the renewed mind, your predators become your prey.
What is your resolution today? Do you need further light on renewing your mind. Listen to the full message here. Or watch the full video below:
