Participants: J. D. & Shelley Quinn (Host), Jill Morikone & Kenny & Chris Shelton
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW017034A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:29 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:07 Hello, and welcome to 3ABN Family Worship. 01:10 We are so glad you are joining us. 01:13 As we gather some of the 3ABN family around the table 01:17 to minister to the rest of you, who are a family. 01:21 Amen. And we're so thankful. 01:23 We want to just tell you from the bottom of our hearts 01:26 that we thank you for your love, your prayers, 01:28 and your financial support. 01:30 This Family Worship is all about welcoming in the Sabbath. 01:34 Tonight, we will be talking about the mind of Christ 01:38 renewed, recreated, hallelujah. 01:41 So, JD, why don't you introduce the family at the table? 01:45 Well, these are some of our best friends, 01:47 of course, we have Mollie down here at the end. 01:50 Mollie. We have Jill next to her. 01:53 Next to me, we have Chris, and we have Kenny. 01:56 And of course, my darling wife Shelley 01:59 and I'm taking up the tail end of piece. 02:02 No, you're the head. 02:05 Thank you. Anyway, we're just... 02:07 This is a gift to be here with you this Sabbath. 02:09 Amen. 02:11 It is, indeed. It is, indeed. 02:13 Well, as I said, what we're gonna talk about tonight 02:16 is how to have the mind of Christ. 02:21 You know, the Bible tells us we have that, 02:23 and what I would like to do is let's just talk about, 02:26 what is an affirmation when we talk about 02:31 praying God's Word back to Him, 02:33 speaking God's Word back to Him. 02:36 Mollie, you've had a lot of experience in that, 02:38 how has that changed your life? 02:40 Well, Gods Word is a powerful source. 02:43 It is a living force. 02:45 And God's Word doesn't return void. 02:50 And I am what the Word says I am. 02:53 And my mind needs to hear that 02:55 and my heart needs to know that. 02:57 So if I speak God's Word over my life 03:00 and something I did early on with my son 03:03 was I taught him God's Word 03:06 and he would speak the word over himself. 03:09 And I would pray God's Word over him 03:12 because it's that power that's in Word 03:14 that's gonna change us into the image 03:16 and likeness of our Lord Jesus Christ. 03:18 Amen. Amen. 03:20 I think affirmation, speaking the Word of God, 03:23 praying the Word of God back to Him 03:24 has been life transforming. 03:27 In my own life, in my prayer walk, my time with God... 03:30 One of my favorite scriptures, Romans 4:17, 03:32 "God who gives life to the dead." 03:34 And we're all dead and trespassers in sin 03:37 or we all were dead in trespassers in sin. 03:40 And cause those things which do not exist 03:42 as though they are already did. 03:43 And so what we can do when we do those affirmations, 03:46 when we claim the Word of God, 03:48 when we speak the Word of God aloud over our lives, 03:51 even if I may not feel like a new creation 03:54 or I may not feel forgiven, 03:56 God's Word says "I am" and so it's true. 03:59 And in the speaking 04:00 there is life and death in the power of the tongue 04:02 and in the speaking of it, there's power. 04:04 Hey, can I get Jill to share something? 04:06 Surely. 04:07 When you were landing, I believe it was 04:09 when you were landing either in New York or in St Louis, 04:12 your ear was hurting, tell us what you did 04:16 and what the end result of that was. 04:18 We were just actually coming back from Russia. 04:20 And we had gotten a bug over there 04:23 and, you know, when you fly with head congestion, 04:26 it can be painful. 04:27 Because the ear doesn't pop. 04:29 And so we had landed in France and I did pretty good, 04:32 it popped twice, and so I was like, "Oh, I'm okay." 04:35 Normally, your ears pop 04:36 what 15-20 times as you descend. 04:39 So then we landed in New York and it popped once and it hurt, 04:42 but it was ok, but when we landed in St Louis, 04:45 we're coming down and I could not get it to pop even once. 04:48 And so the pressure builds, and builds, and builds, 04:52 and then the pain started. 04:54 And I was just sitting there and just it was painful. 04:59 And so just the left side and so what I did is, 05:02 I laid my head back in the chair, 05:04 and I just started reciting scripture. 05:06 And the scripture I recited was Isaiah 26:3, 05:09 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, 05:11 whose mind is stayed on thee because he trusteth in thee." 05:14 "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace..." 05:16 And I was fourth time through. 05:18 Now I was not asking God to help me, 05:21 I was not asking for any deliverance, 05:23 I was just quoting scripture, 05:25 "God I wanna keep my mind on you. 05:26 God give me peace right now in this situation." 05:31 I felt a hand. 05:33 I have never in my whole life felt that. 05:36 I felt a hand over the left ear 05:38 and instantly the pain was gone. 05:40 Praise God. Amen. 05:42 Now the pressure was there 05:43 and my ear didn't pop till the next day, 05:45 but instantly the pain was gone. 05:49 Amen. That's the Word. 05:51 And I wasn't even asking God please take that. 05:54 "Just God keep my mind on you. 05:55 God give me your peace." 05:57 And instantly, that was powerful. 05:59 Beautiful. Amen. 06:00 It is powerful. 06:02 Well, I would like to read to you an affirmation 06:06 that will go along with tonight's study. 06:09 We have six scriptures 06:11 that we would like to feature tonight. 06:14 And I hope you have your Bible and a pen. 06:16 And I know we'll end up adding more scriptures to that. 06:19 But from these six scriptures, this is an affirmation 06:22 and as Jill said, "God calls things 06:25 that are not as though they already were." 06:27 And sometimes as we're praying, 06:30 the Word back to Him, 06:31 that's the same thing we're doing, calling things 06:34 that are not as though they already were. 06:36 But it renews your mind. 06:37 It reprograms your mind. 06:39 "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." 06:42 So as you said we're not who we think we are, 06:46 we're not who others say we are, 06:48 we are who the Word of God says who we are." 06:50 That's right. Amen. 06:51 So He watches over His Word to perform it. 06:55 So as we return it to Him, it does not return void. 06:58 So here is the affirmation, "My mind is renewed, 07:03 my attitudes are made new 07:05 and radically changed through the power of His Word. 07:09 His Word sanctifies me, 07:11 separating me from the world's viewpoint. 07:13 I am set apart morally, ethically, and attitudinally, 07:17 from the world system. 07:19 My conduct and my thoughts are governed 07:23 by God's administrative system of His Holy Kingdom, 07:26 as recorded in His Word. 07:29 I am recreated in the image of God. 07:32 I have been given the mind of Christ, 07:36 by the power of the Holy Spirit, 07:39 I take every thought captive 07:41 and make it obedient to the will of Christ my Lord." 07:45 Now every bit of this is backed up in scripture. 07:51 And it is powerful. 07:53 When you start proclaiming this over your life... 07:55 I remember, once a lady called 07:57 and she was asking me about how to do affirmations. 08:01 And so I was taking her through a few 08:04 and when we got to the scripture 08:06 of 1 Corinthians 2:16, 08:08 it says, "We have the mind of Christ." 08:10 I said, so I just want you to say, "Thank you, Lord, 08:13 that I have the mind of Christ." 08:14 And she said, "Thank you, Lord, that I have... 08:17 Oh, I can't say that! 08:20 And I said, "But that's what the Bible says." 08:22 That's right. Amen. 08:23 And so we've got to speak God's Word into our life. 08:26 And you know what, faith comes by hearing, 08:29 and hearing by that Word of God. 08:32 And there's nothing more faith built 08:34 than to hear it in your own voice. 08:37 So, Jill, why don't you talk to us 08:40 about Romans 12:2? 08:45 I love Romans 12. 08:46 I think it's one of my favorite scriptures 08:48 in the whole book of Romans for sure. 08:52 I love Romans 12. 08:53 When you think about the whole book of Romans, 08:56 Paul's really laying out these theological treaties 09:00 on justification by faith. 09:01 And we hit Romans 12 09:03 and it kind of takes the shift to that practical standpoint, 09:07 the practical outworking. 09:09 And I know I have verse two, 09:10 but I wanna read one and two, if that's okay. 09:12 Surely. Absolutely. 09:13 I think one really goes with the verse two. 09:15 We're in Romans 12:1, open up your Bibles 09:18 and follow along, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, 09:21 and by the mercies of God, 09:22 that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, 09:27 holy, acceptable unto God, 09:30 which is your reasonable service." 09:32 And service literally means in the Greek worship, 09:35 which is our act of worship would be coming before Him, 09:39 making ourselves that living sacrifice. 09:42 To me in this, we're talking about 09:44 transformation the mind of Christ, 09:47 possessing that the mind of Christ, 09:49 there are two key elements. 09:50 One is in verse 1 and one is in verse 2. 09:53 In verse one I see self-surrender, 09:56 and surrender precedes, surrender comes before 10:02 this us becoming a living sacrifice 10:04 because you can't be a living sacrifice 10:06 unless we surrender our lives completely to the Lord Jesus. 10:11 And then in verse 2, what I see 10:13 is this inward renewing of the mind which precedes 10:18 or comes before the outward transformation 10:21 of character, and habits, and thoughts, 10:24 and really who we are as people. 10:25 So let's read verse 2, 10:27 "Do not be conformed to this world, 10:31 but be transformed by the renewing of your mind 10:35 that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, 10:37 and perfect will of God." 10:40 In the Greek, the word transformed 10:41 as metamorphosis, meaning, 10:43 that's where we get our word in English 10:45 for the metamorphosis process, and I've shared this before, 10:50 I'll share it just briefly. 10:52 Surely. 10:53 Greg loves to watch nature, 10:55 and one morning he said, 10:56 "Jilly, come look at the front porch." 10:58 And underneath the railing was a caterpillar, 11:01 and it was forming its cocoon, its chrysalis. 11:04 And then every day, we went out 11:06 and peeked, and peeked again, and peeked again 11:08 and then on Sabbath, 11:10 it broke out and the butterfly emerged. 11:13 And to me, that's an example of this renewing of the mind, 11:17 the metamorphosis process. 11:19 We start in the caterpillar stage, 11:22 we're all crawling in the dirt, we're all sinners, 11:25 and then God by the power of His Spirit changes us 11:29 through that metamorphosis process 11:31 so completely that we don't look anything 11:34 like who we used to be. 11:36 And we are transformed by the renewing of our mind. 11:41 Amen. 11:43 As it where they're renovating. 11:44 In the Greek, it also can mean renovating 11:46 and if you think if you're renovating your house, 11:49 it's many times when people renovate, 11:51 they go all the way back to the studs, right? 11:53 Complete overhaul of the home to make it new, 11:56 it's the same principle. 11:58 God wants to completely change us from the inside out, 12:02 and that transforming process, 12:03 when you look at someone you say, 12:05 "Pastor Kenny, you act different than you used to 12:07 or you react different," or whatever, 12:10 that is a result of an internal transformation 12:14 that's happened because of the Lord Jesus. 12:17 And that change, that renewing of your mind has changed that 12:21 and then now it exhibits itself in an outside behavior. 12:24 Amen. You know, when you think about... 12:26 I did a study on this 'cause I did sermon on this once, 12:29 but when you think about the caterpillar, 12:32 the caterpillar moves a little bit slowly. 12:34 But guess what, the whole purpose of the caterpillar is 12:37 he's on that leaf 12:39 and all he does in the caterpillar stage is eat. 12:42 He's just eating constantly. 12:45 And so when I think of this metamorphosis 12:48 and this process that you're talking about, 12:51 it's as to me, 12:53 it's like the more we're in the Word of God, 12:56 the more of that this... 12:59 It's kind of like the Word is 13:00 what as the chrysalis surround us 13:02 and then we blossom out. 13:05 And it is all about the Word is. 13:07 Absolutely. He says, "Taste and see." 13:10 Yes. Right? 13:11 Good, taste and see, so do a little nibbling there. 13:13 So keep going in Word, wonderful, yes. 13:16 Beautiful. 13:17 Well, my verse is John 17:17, 13:21 and I just wanna kind of give a short synopsis 13:24 of what was happening at this time. 13:27 Christ was preparing His disciples 13:29 because He realized that his hour had come. 13:32 And the whole chapter of John 17, 13:35 He's praying and He's asking God, 13:38 you know, for the ones that God had given Him 13:40 to take care of them to sanctify them, 13:43 He says, "I've shown them who you are, 13:45 I've given them your Word." 13:47 And He's wanting the Father to sanctify 13:51 those who have remained faithful to Him. 13:53 So what does sanctify mean? 13:54 It means to make holy. Amen. 13:56 And to make Him into the image of Him. 13:59 And, you know, as I was looking and thinking about this, 14:02 of course, my mind went in a lot of different... 14:06 Channel. Channels. 14:08 Yeah, channels as a word, directions. 14:09 Thank you. I needed a direction right now. 14:14 But, you know, back in the beginning 14:15 where the first war began in heaven, 14:19 the enemy was accusing God of being unjust, 14:22 and that we no longer really needed to keep the law. 14:25 We could be holy, we could be righteous without the law, 14:28 without the Word of God as it were. 14:30 You know, so there's been an attack on God's character. 14:33 And so when He was cast at this earth, 14:36 really, He felt that this was His realm. 14:39 He was the Father, 14:41 He was the overseer of this earth. 14:44 And Jesus had come to take that back 14:48 and to show us the true character 14:51 of His, our Heavenly Father 14:52 because through that time where Satan was the ruler, 14:55 where he reigned, 14:57 and the Word of God was distorted 14:59 and the people's thought about who God was, 15:04 was not always a loving God. 15:06 Sometimes it was a very destructive God, 15:09 you know, one that was always 15:11 out to discipline you as a child of God. 15:15 The verse 17:17 reads, 15:17 "Sanctify them through thy truth, 15:20 thy Word is truth." 15:22 You see the enemy is a liar and there is no truth in him. 15:25 And so that very suddenly, 15:27 he had been maligning God's character 15:30 and Christ came to show us the Father's character. 15:34 He says, "If you've seen me, you've seen the Father." 15:36 Amen. 15:38 And He was very concerned. 15:40 And then you think about, "Why was He so concerned? 15:42 What's so important about truth?" 15:45 You see, as you begin to study God's Word 15:47 we find out that it's truth that sets us free. 15:50 But free from what? 15:52 As you read in that verse, you find it's free from sin. 15:55 Because sin separates us from heaven, 15:58 sin separates us from our Heavenly Father 16:01 from ever reaching the pearly gates for eternity. 16:04 And so truth is vitally important 16:08 and we're living in a time just as the disciples did 16:11 where there was going to be seducing spirits 16:15 come in and attack the children of God. 16:18 And it's interesting, 16:19 the parallel that you see with the disciples 16:23 and the new Christians at that time, 16:25 and you think about the time that we're living in right now. 16:28 And it's very much parallels this time 16:31 because again, Christ is saying, 16:33 sanctify yourselves through the truth, 16:35 you must know the truth, 16:37 you need to be grounded on that firm foundation 16:40 because if you're not, you're gonna be shaken loose. 16:43 You know, we're to be as straight as still 16:45 because every wind of doctrine is beginning to blow. 16:49 And we were sharing I think with you last week 16:52 about how a lady had just come into the church, 16:55 and while we were gone for a month, 16:57 she started going and visiting elsewhere, 16:59 and all of a sudden, 17:00 she felt like she had received the Holy Ghost. 17:05 Well, I asked her a question, 17:07 "Do you know what you're saying?" 17:08 "No, but I know it's wonderful. I know it's praising." 17:11 You know, and I began to show her that God is a Spirit. 17:15 And the Bible says, 17:17 "We've to worship Him in spirit and in truth." 17:21 And so you need... 17:23 If that is the true spirit of God, 17:25 then where she's going, where she's attending, 17:28 they would be preaching the truth, right? 17:31 Yeah. 17:32 And so if you have one without the other 17:34 you can almost be sure that is a seducing spirit. 17:37 And we've been warned as Jesus was warning His disciples 17:41 that there will be enemies coming in, 17:43 seducing spirits to tear them away, 17:45 and the same thing is told us today. 17:48 And as the Spirit of God 17:50 is being repress from this earth, 17:53 we see that the enemy 17:54 is growing stronger and stronger. 17:56 Mercy. And that more seducing spirit. 17:59 There are miracles that are actually taking place. 18:01 And it's taking place "in the name of Jesus." 18:05 And so people are confused and the only way... 18:07 That you're saying these are false miracles? 18:09 Exactly. 18:10 The only way you can tell the true from the error 18:15 is by the Word of God. 18:16 "Sanctify them, make them holy through thy truth." 18:21 So we've got to get to our Bibles 18:23 whether it's electronic Bible, 18:25 whatever Bible you're studying, 18:27 and we've got to eat the Word, we've got to devour the Word. 18:30 And we need to come to the point 18:32 that no matter what befalls around us 18:34 that we can stand as Christ stood. 18:36 Yes. 18:38 The enemy, he didn't come to Him as a devil, 18:41 he came to Him as an angel of light. 18:43 Yes. 18:44 You know, and here, Christ 40 days and 40 nights 18:46 he would know He was in a weakened state. 18:48 Oh, yeah. 18:50 And yet he had the clarity of mind to say it is written. 18:55 Amen. 18:56 He was going back to the truth, back to the Word. 19:00 So everything, every spirit as it were, 19:04 every doctrine needs to clear that testing truth. 19:09 It needs to go 100% with the Word of God 19:13 or it's not of Him, you know. 19:15 So what we're saying then to be sanctified, 19:19 it's synonymous with being made holy, 19:21 that means just to be set apart from sin. 19:24 Amen. Amen. 19:25 So when it says, "Don't be conformed to the world, 19:28 be transformed by the renewing of your mind." 19:31 You're saying then that the Word of God 19:34 is the one of the best avenues to renew our mind. 19:37 Oh, absolutely. 19:39 And, you know, referring this back to Sister Mollie for 19:42 because I remember her saying not long ago, 19:44 "You know, I used to think I knew everything." 19:46 Well, I think all of us at one point 19:49 we kind of thought we knew we were kind of had arrived. 19:52 But, you know, the more we develop 19:55 a relationship with Christ, 19:56 and the more we begin to learn, the more we realize, 19:59 we really didn't know very much at all. 20:02 And it is the truth that begins to come in 20:05 and it does a surgery. 20:07 You know, a lot of times 20:08 as someone coming into the church, 20:11 we have others that once in a while that take the Bible 20:14 and they'll beat someone over the head with it. 20:15 That's not the way to do it. 20:17 The hospital is a place for sinners to come 20:20 and you present the truth to them 20:21 and allow the Holy Spirit to come in 20:24 and to do that heart work, 20:26 to recreate Christ image within us. 20:29 I've got a little quote here from Acts of the Apostles, 20:34 it's page 475. 20:35 It says the, "The knowledge of God as revealed in Christ 20:39 is the knowledge that all who are saved must have." 20:44 Must have. 20:45 He is our example and I love it 20:48 because you can find Christ in every book of the Bible. 20:52 Amen. 20:53 "This is the knowledge 20:54 that works a transformation of character." 20:58 You see, our characters, we're as filthy rags. 21:01 You know, what would heaven be like 21:03 if God filled it up with filthy rags? 21:05 As it were. 21:07 He is recreating His image within us 21:09 because He wants us to live with Him. 21:11 He wants us to be 21:13 a part of that eternal realm in heaven. 21:17 "Received into the life, 21:18 it will recreate the soul in the image of Christ." 21:22 That's what we need, we need a doctor, 21:24 we need a physician 21:26 because what we have adopted many times 21:28 in our life as true and right is really not. 21:32 We've been deceived. 21:33 But we can only find out 21:35 what that deception is through the Word of God. 21:38 And I praise God. He is so merciful. 21:40 He is so patient. Amen. 21:43 And He works with us, He loves us as little babes. 21:47 In fact, He says we need to be little babes 21:50 so that we can have the faith that we should 21:53 and trust Him as he's working 21:55 this recreation in our minds and in our hearts. 21:57 You said something reminded me 21:59 that I think one of the greatest... 22:02 The thing that I am most appreciative of everything 22:05 my mother ever taught me was she said, 22:08 "Don't believe something it's true 22:11 just because you hear a pastor behind the pulpit say it." 22:15 She said, "You get into the Word 22:17 and find out for yourself." 22:19 Well, when I finally took that advice, 22:24 I found out that most of what I've been taught 22:26 in my church growing up was error. 22:30 And I had accepted it. 22:31 So it is important and that's one thing 22:34 that I so appreciate about the pastors on 3ABN 22:38 is I think that almost everyone who teaches on 3ABN, 22:42 I can't think of an exception, 22:44 teaches with a lot of scripture, 22:47 and will challenge and say, "Look it up, make sure 22:51 because it is the truth, it's what God's Word is, 22:56 and that's what it sets us apart." 22:59 A man said... 23:00 Excuse me, Shelley, a man said one time, 23:01 he called in, he said... 23:03 He wasn't Seventh-day Adventist, 23:04 and he said, "What I really appreciate 23:06 and almost I'm astounded 23:08 is that is everybody knows everybody there, right? 23:11 Because all preachers, everybody's on there, 23:13 they're all real good friends, everybody." 23:15 I said, "No, they're some of the probably never met." 23:18 And they said, "Yeah, but everybody seems to say 23:20 the same thing 23:22 and that is so different than where I was raised 23:25 and even the same church name on the door, 23:29 you can go to different ones 23:30 and they're teaching something different." 23:31 He said, "But 3ABN, I watch it, 23:33 and almost everybody say the very same thing. 23:36 And yet, they haven't met some of them?" 23:38 I said, "Exactly right 23:40 because they've been to the Word." 23:41 That's right. Yes, amen. 23:43 I'd like to say just one more thing 23:45 to we're coming into a time in this world's history 23:48 where there will be tremendous miracles. 23:50 And so much that fire will come down from heaven. 23:53 There are people... Signs and wonders. 23:55 Yes, signs and wonders. 23:58 And so much that the enemy himself will impersonating, 24:01 an angel lied again, impersonate Christ Himself. 24:05 And so we're getting to a time where we cannot believe 24:08 what we see often or what we hear, 24:11 we can only go back to "It is written." 24:13 That's right. Amen. 24:15 I just have to confess I saw Forrest Gump many years ago 24:20 and there's a character 24:21 Gary Sinise plays this character. 24:24 And he was without legs, 24:26 and he's pulling himself along or scooting across the boat. 24:30 And I looked at JD and I said, 24:32 "I didn't know he didn't have any legs 24:35 or come to find out he did." 24:37 But they had just altered it digitally 24:40 it was so convincing. 24:42 And I thought, "I'll never believe anything I see again." 24:47 Okay. 24:48 And I know that don't write me about that 24:51 because that was a long time ago. 24:54 Okay, I have Ephesians 4:22-24. 24:59 I'm gonna read this first from the amplified. 25:03 And I love the way it says, 25:04 "Strip yourselves of your former nature, 25:07 put off and discard your old unrenewed self 25:12 which characterized your previous manner of life 25:16 and becomes corrupt through lusts and desires 25:19 that spring from delusion be constantly renewed 25:24 in the spirit of your mind 25:26 having a fresh mental and spiritual attitude, 25:30 and put on the new nature, 25:32 the regenerate self created in God's image, 25:36 Godlike in true righteousness and holiness." 25:39 Well, let's kind of unpack that thing. 25:42 That's saying a lot really. 25:43 We know justification takes how long? 25:48 A moment. 25:49 Yeah, a moment. 25:51 We are justified means 25:52 we are God forgives as the penal, 25:55 and He cancels the penalty of sin. 25:57 He forgives our sins. 25:59 But there's two kinds of sanctification. 26:03 There is positional sanctification, 26:07 which this is a holiness being set apart from sin 26:12 when we are in Christ, 26:15 we are positionally in sanctification 26:18 because 1 Corinthians 1:30 says that, 26:20 "Jesus is our wisdom from God, 26:22 He is our righteousness, our sanctification, 26:26 and our redemption." 26:28 But the second kind of sanctification is practical. 26:34 So you have positional, 26:36 when you're in Christ, you're set apart from sin, 26:38 but then there is this practical sanctification. 26:42 This is through our daily quest to obey 26:47 and to be purified that we are freed 26:51 from our former way of life. 26:53 So He says, "Put off the old self." 26:57 Now it's interesting in the King James Version 27:00 it says, "Put off the conversation." 27:04 Is how it says that I think. 27:05 And that word has undergone a dramatic change 27:10 since King James day. 27:12 So in the Greek, it's anastrophe, 27:15 which means your manner of life. 27:16 So He's saying, "Put away your old manner of life." 27:22 When we were born again, 27:23 when we accepted Christ as our savior, 27:26 and the Holy Spirit came into us, 27:27 we were born again, we're born of the Word, 27:29 we're born of the Spirit, 27:31 and we are new creations in Christ. 27:35 2 Corinthians 5:17, 27:37 "We're new creations in Christ." 27:39 But, you know, the Word says, "All things have become new. 27:45 The old is gone, the new has come." 27:49 Positionally, that's true. 27:51 Practically, sometimes 27:52 the old can rear its ugly little head, can't it? 27:56 So what he's telling us here, 27:58 even though we are saved by grace through faith, 28:01 there's nothing you can do to save yourself. 28:04 But we still are supposed 28:05 to cooperate with the Holy Spirit. 28:09 And we've got to put off this old disposition 28:13 that's not compatible with the Savior. 28:16 This is a deliberate action. 28:18 It's a determined action, a choice that we make 28:22 because we're born with this fall in nature 28:26 since we are Adam's descendants. 28:29 We have a bit toward 28:31 selfishness and sinfulness, don't we? 28:35 And as you said, that old unregenerate nature, 28:39 sin separates us from God. 28:41 So since the old man was a slave to sin, 28:45 headed for judgment, what we've got to do is say, 28:49 "Okay, no more of you. I'm making up my mind." 28:53 I loved what he said here. 28:55 I'm going to read it now out of the King James. 28:57 He says, "The old man, which grows corrupt 29:02 according to the deceitful lusts." 29:06 The desires and the things 29:10 that we are the lusts that we have, 29:14 why are they deceitful? 29:16 The lust of the flesh because they promise one thing 29:21 and deliver another thing, don't they? 29:23 Yeah. 29:25 So it's the deceits. 29:26 And then he says... 29:28 Let me see where I am at. 29:30 So this corrupted nature, we need to turn away 29:35 and leave those old attitudes, those old habits, 29:39 the old actions that we had before being born again. 29:42 This is the old me that was crucified. 29:47 When Paul said, "I've been crucified with Christ." 29:50 This is the old I that was crucified. 29:54 So we're taking off, he says, "Put off the old self." 29:57 This is a sin-stained garment. 30:01 Just think about it 30:02 as a disgusting revolting garment. 30:05 Mercy. 30:06 Yeah. 30:07 And you're just saying, 30:09 "Okay, this old nasty garment, 30:12 I'm getting ready to throw you out in the trash bin." 30:14 Yes. 30:16 "Not taking you to the Salvation Army, 30:17 I'm not taking you anywhere, I'm throwing you away." 30:21 So the old way of life 30:26 that we had before we came into Christ 30:30 is completely in the past, it should be. 30:32 But then he says, 30:34 "Be made new in the attitude of our mind." 30:38 And as both you and Chris have said 30:42 and for those who are listening, 30:44 I shouldn't just say you. 30:46 Jill, as you and Chris have said, 30:48 it is by the power of the Holy Spirit. 30:51 It's by the power of God's word. 30:55 That we're renewed in our mind, 30:57 James 1:21 says, 30:58 "The Word when it's implanted in your heart 31:01 has the power to save your souls." 31:04 It is so powerful. 31:05 And Proverbs 23:7 says that, 31:08 "As a man believes in his heart, so is he." 31:13 So we want to come before the Lord, 31:18 accept what He says about us in His Word and be renewed. 31:23 When He says, be renewed, 31:24 in the Greek this is a present tense, 31:27 so it's a continual progressive action. 31:30 In other words, 31:32 you're constantly being renewed 31:35 in the spirit of your mind and that's the attitude 31:38 and the disposition 31:40 which determines our behavior and conduct. 31:43 But then he says, "Put on the new nature, 31:47 the new life that we receive in Christ." 31:51 We are the product of the new birth 31:54 is a new nature, is it not? 31:55 That's right. 31:57 That's what the product is. 31:58 And we're recreated, God is not only our Creator, 32:02 but He's the one who recreates us 32:04 in the family like this of Jesus Christ. 32:07 So what we're supposed to do 32:09 then is to clothe ourself with this new nature. 32:12 If there's a maturation process where we become... 32:17 2 Corinthians 3:18 become 32:19 what we behold as we look into this mirror, this Word, 32:23 and we become like Jesus, we're unselfish. 32:26 You know, Jesus was not rude, Jesus didn't have to apologize, 32:30 Jesus was loving, and unselfish. 32:33 So this is what 32:34 when the Holy Spirit is in dwelling us. 32:38 This is that new nature that we're putting on. 32:41 And then he says, 32:44 "Which was created according to God 32:45 in true righteousness and holiness." 32:48 And I think, you know, 32:50 when we're interacting among each other, 32:54 our righteousness shows 32:55 that we treat people in that righteous way. 32:58 The holiness I think to is more, 33:00 I mean, purely this conduct, our attitude toward God. 33:05 So they blend together. 33:07 I don't know did I said that right. 33:09 So basically, it is a daily, conscious, 33:13 commitment that we are making. 33:15 And it is daily, is it not? 33:16 Yes, it is. 33:18 And so it's just we're gonna follow a new direction 33:23 and enjoy a new way of thinking as led by the Holy Spirit. 33:28 Amen. 33:29 So really if what I'm hearing is right, 33:33 really if we come to the Lord 33:35 and we really realize 33:38 how stinky our past life has been. 33:41 You just told how dirty and filthy 33:42 and something that ragged and rotten, 33:44 and you can't... 33:45 If we really believe 33:47 that we really will not want to go back and pick it up. 33:52 But so often, you know, man will say, 33:54 "Well, I'm not going that way." 33:55 But he goes back again. 33:57 It's like to me, repenting from sin, 33:58 when you really repent from sin, 34:00 you repent in such a way 34:01 that Lord that you never wanna go back again. 34:04 That's right. 34:05 You never wanna participate when you're really sorry 34:06 what you've done 34:08 that you determine by the grace of God 34:10 that you never go that way again. 34:12 To me that's true repentance. 34:14 Not just say, "I repent, I'm sorry for my sin." 34:16 And go right back in again. 34:18 But truly recognize 34:19 what it does to others and yourself and to God 34:22 in our relationship, 34:23 then we're truly sorry 34:25 we don't go back, and the old man like you said, 34:27 we don't put on because he's stinky. 34:31 It reminds me of Romans 13:14, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ." 34:34 'Cause you're talking about putting on another man, 34:37 and then it continues, 34:38 and make no provision for the flash 34:40 to fulfill the lust thereof. 34:42 So when we put on Christ, 34:45 we don't keep that old stuff around 34:48 to tempt us 34:50 and to pull us back into the old way of life. 34:52 Yeah. 34:53 Mollie, you were looking up the scripture, 34:54 I think you want to say something, don't you? 34:57 Well, no, I was just looking up Proverbs 23:7, 35:02 "As a man thinks in his heart." 35:07 That always speaks loudly to me 35:11 and, you know, you were saying that 35:15 we have to change, repentance is a change. 35:19 You know what confession is? 35:21 Acknowledging, "Yeah, I did it." 35:24 You can confess all day long and still be in sin. 35:28 Acknowledging that you did it, even to God, "God, I did it." 35:32 But until you repent, there is no forgiveness. 35:36 That's right. Good. 35:38 And that kind of leaves us into my scripture. 35:41 You wanna say something? No, go ahead. 35:44 And that's Ephesians 2:10. 35:47 I'm on to read Ephesians 2:10 in the Amplified, 35:50 then I'm gonna go back 35:51 I'm gonna read 4 to 10 because and... 35:53 This is one of the greatest promises to me 35:55 in the Bible. 35:57 That's right. 35:58 And then we'll talk about it a little bit. 36:00 Ephesians 2:10 in the Amplified, 36:03 "For we are God's own handiwork. 36:06 His workmanship, recreated in Christ Jesus, 36:10 born anew that we may do those good works 36:14 which God predestined 36:16 or planned beforehand for us." 36:20 Unpack this and then we'll go and read 4 to 10. 36:24 "For we are God's own handiwork." 36:26 In other words, 36:27 we are His spiritual recreation, 36:30 fantastic words, spiritual recreation. 36:33 Amen. 36:35 His workmanship recreated, born anew, born anew. 36:40 If we change our mind, our affections, our purposes, 36:45 then we are given the privilege, the duty, 36:50 the responsibility of proper witnessing. 36:56 And as a Christian, 36:58 that is what He really created us to do 37:04 to share of the good Word. 37:06 But the old J.D. Quinn 37:10 being a filthy rag 37:13 only thing that I knew to present 37:15 was that which was dirty. 37:17 And so somehow or the other, 37:19 we had to get him out of the way, 37:22 once you become sick and tired of being sick and tired, 37:26 then say, "Jesus, please help me 37:30 through the aid of the Holy Spirit 37:31 impress upon me, what am I supposed to do?" 37:34 And then, there's that great word, 37:37 spiritual recreation. 37:40 Spiritual that takes God out, 37:42 I mean, that takes the enemy out of it. 37:44 Yes. 37:45 So now we're turning to Jesus. Amen. 37:48 Let me just read this. 37:49 I mean, I think that we've all read this. 37:51 And I just love it. 37:52 This is Ephesians 2:10, what I just read. 37:56 Let's go through 4:10 setting it all up. 38:00 "But because of His great love for us, 38:03 God, who is rich in mercy, 38:05 made us alive with Christ 38:07 even when we were dead in sin, transgressions, 38:10 it is by grace that you have been saved. 38:13 And God raised us up with Christ 38:15 and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms 38:17 in Christ Jesus, 38:19 in order that in the coming ages 38:21 that He might show 38:22 the incomparable riches of His grace, 38:24 expressed in His kindness to us in Christ Jesus." 38:28 Verse 8, please listen, 38:30 "For it is by grace that you have been saved, 38:34 through faith, and this is not from yourselves, 38:37 it is the gift of God, not by works, 38:42 so that no one can boast." 38:44 And we're going to verse 10, "For we are God's handiwork, 38:48 His workmanship, 38:50 spiritually recreated, created in Christ Jesus, 38:54 do good works 38:55 which God prepared and advanced for us to do." 38:58 Amen. Powerful. 39:00 This is about recreation. 39:02 If I can just share... 39:04 if you've got your pencil, 39:05 now is a good time to write these down. 39:07 I wanna give you just quickly four scriptures. 39:11 And first one is in the Old Testament 39:14 'cause normally, we think of rebirth, 39:16 we think of New Testament. 39:17 This is Old Testament, Ezekiel 36:26. 39:20 Amen. 39:22 "I will give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you." 39:26 Thank You, Jesus. Amen. 39:27 2 Corinthians 5:17, 39:30 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, 39:34 he is a new creation. 39:36 The old has gone, the new has come." 39:39 Titus 3:5, 39:41 "He saved us not because of the righteous things 39:45 that we had done, 39:47 but because of His mercy, His grace." 39:49 Amen. 39:50 "He saved us through the washing of rebirth 39:54 and the renewal by the Holy Spirit." 39:56 Amen. 39:58 And then this one caught my attention 40:00 because this is talking about senior citizens. 40:04 Psalms 92:14, 40:09 "They will still bear fruit in old age, 40:13 and they will stay fresh and green." 40:18 If you want to follow that, 40:19 you can go on Psalms 103:5 40:23 because this is what I want, 40:25 "Who satisfies your desires with good things 40:29 so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's." 40:33 Amen. Wow! 40:34 So if you're young, 40:37 allow the Holy Spirit to work in you. 40:38 That's right. 40:40 And if you're middle aged, 40:41 allow the Holy Spirit to work in you. 40:44 If you happen to be blessed and get threescore and ten, 40:49 call on the Holy Spirit to renew you. 40:51 If you're even more blessed and you're 80, 90... 40:56 Talked to somebody the other day, 40:57 they wanted me to pray for their daughter. 41:02 "Oh, would be happy to..." 41:05 And she said something 41:06 that kind of threw up a red flag, 41:08 "How old is your daughter?" 41:11 "Well, she's 82." 41:14 Well, you don't have to be a genius 41:17 to say 82 plus 20. 41:20 Wow, sister. 41:23 I want your eating habits. Absolutely. 41:25 Way to go. There you go. 41:27 But anyway the Holy Spirit is there to recreate us, 41:31 spiritually recreate us to be more like Him 41:34 so that we can do what we were called to do. 41:37 And that is to freshly go out and be a witness for Him. 41:40 Amen. 41:42 Praise the Lord. That's good. 41:44 I love it. Amen, I do too. 41:46 So basically what we've said this far 41:50 is we don't wanna be conformed, 41:52 we wanna transformed by the renewing of our mind. 41:54 This happens through the Word of God 41:56 that sets us apart from sin. 41:59 We do, even though we're saved by grace, 42:01 we play a part in this. 42:02 We need to put off the old... 42:06 Something you said, I just want to say 42:08 before I forget 'cause I will. 42:11 Even though we do put off the old, 42:14 I have seen very sincere people 42:17 who in a moment of weakness 42:18 have turned back to their old ways. 42:20 And I just wanted to read 42:22 because if you're sitting at home and you think, 42:25 "Man, I've been down this route before. 42:28 God saved me. 42:29 I did turn away from the old. 42:31 I don't know how I turned back." 42:35 Please don't feel guilty. 42:37 I mean, don't feel under condemnation, 42:40 God will give you a godly sorrow, 42:42 but don't feel under condemnation. 42:44 Here's that precious promise from Micah 7:8, 42:50 it says, "Do not rejoice over me, 42:53 my enemy, when I fall, I will arise. 42:57 When I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. 43:01 I will bear the indignation of the Lord 43:03 because I have sinned against Him, 43:05 until He pleads my cause 43:10 and executes justice for me, 43:13 He will bring me forth to the light." 43:15 Halleluiah. 43:17 So even if you've done something 43:19 that you did turn your back on the Lord for a while, 43:22 you turned back to your old habit. 43:25 Maybe you were delivered from drugs 43:26 but somehow find yourself doing it again. 43:29 You were delivered from alcohol 43:31 and suddenly you start drinking again. 43:34 As JD always says, 43:36 "This is not a sprint, it's a marathon. 43:38 And God will pick you up and dust you up." 43:43 He is your Father, your Abba, 43:45 He's anxious for you to come to Him as a child. 43:48 Absolutely. 43:49 So He wants to renew us, 43:52 we are His handiwork, His work of art. 43:56 And now, Kenny, 43:58 you've got the culminating one I think for the mind of Christ. 44:03 Just what we've all been talking about here 44:05 the mind of Christ, 44:06 you know, that's found in 1 Corinthians 2:16 44:10 simply reads, 44:11 "For who hath known the mind of the Lord 44:15 that He may instruct him? 44:17 But we have the mind of Christ." 44:20 Well, how positive, 44:21 when you read scripture, right there... 44:23 Positive man. 44:25 You know, because he knows in whom he has believed. 44:27 We have the mind of Christ. 44:29 How exciting that is that we can have that mind. 44:31 And I think it's in the Philippians 2:5, 44:34 you know, "Let this mind be in you," 44:36 which someone mentioned a while ago. 44:37 "Let this mind be in you, 44:39 which was also in Christ Jesus." 44:40 So that gives me a hint 44:42 right then and there that Paul's talking about 44:44 we can have the mind of Christ. 44:47 And it has to be 44:48 Christ's mind not our mind that's been talked about here 44:51 that the old fleshly man is going to have to go. 44:54 So I got thinking about that when we were talking about 44:56 doing this lesson, and I thought, 44:57 you know, what is a really good illustration, 45:00 what is one in scripture that everybody knows 45:03 and has read about how because we understand we need, 45:08 we must have the mind of Christ. 45:10 But a lot of times we forget how is, 45:12 maybe, this accomplished and we talk about 45:14 and come at it from different angles. 45:16 And the best illustration 45:17 that I could find at least in my mind 45:19 that helped me was John 15 45:22 which is the vine and the branches. 45:23 Amen. That's good. 45:25 So I jotted down several things 45:26 I want us just quickly to look at because first of all, 45:28 Jesus said this, remember He said, 45:30 "I am," what? 45:32 "I'm the true vine." 45:34 So there's a lot of false ones out there, but He said, 45:36 "I'm the true vine" first of all. 45:38 So this vine then would represent 45:40 as we look at it, and the branches, 45:42 the relationship that Christ has with us. 45:46 And certainly, at that time with the Jews and the Gentiles 45:49 and what was going on in His own life. 45:51 And as we look at these points that I'm gonna bring out here, 45:55 see how it fits with the life of Christ 45:58 and what was done to Him 46:00 when He said, 46:01 "I am the vine and you are the branches." 46:03 But notice, the Jews regarded this vine 46:06 as something that was powerful. 46:09 They regarded something that was beautiful, 46:11 something that was fruitful. 46:13 So they were looking at the vine 46:14 to begin with and said, 46:15 "This is good, looks good, and it's fruitful, 46:18 and this is something 46:19 we need to take a closer look at." 46:21 Israel in the Bible had been presented as the vine 46:24 which God planted. 46:26 So we're beginning to look at it and we're seeing... 46:28 To me, Jesus is coming into the picture here. 46:31 We're looking and seeing 46:32 that He has to come into the picture here. 46:34 And so as we look at it, 46:35 it says many were attracted to this vine, 46:38 as it were, because of its loveliness. 46:40 You were mentioning maybe sweetness of attitude 46:42 and the way we talk to one another 46:43 and the way Jesus talked. 46:45 I think you mentioned, He never had to apologize, 46:47 you know, that's not been my life. 46:49 You know, many times, 46:51 I need to, maybe times I haven't. 46:53 But in our lives sometimes we say things the wrong way, 46:56 maybe we don't mean to, it comes out the wrong way, 46:58 we still need to apologize for that, 47:00 and we've said and done things. 47:01 But notice in here, but the leaders of Israel said, 47:05 notice this, 47:07 "No, this is not beautiful like you think it is. 47:10 This is a root out of a dry ground, 47:12 and so we don't like this root. 47:15 We don't like the plant that's going to come up here, 47:17 so we need to stamp it out, we need to stomp it, 47:19 we need to kill it." 47:21 In other words, 47:22 "We need to get rid of this thing." 47:23 And we think about the life of Christ 47:25 when He came here naturally. 47:26 So the thought was, 47:27 "Let's kill it, let's get rid of it," 47:29 and so they set about to do that. 47:33 Now notice this, the plant then was replanted where? 47:37 Outside the walls. 47:39 He was crucified where? Outside the walls, right? 47:41 "He came to His own, 47:42 His own received him not," outside. 47:44 So He was planted outside the wall, 47:46 but notice that the branches went back... 47:48 Oh, glory! I'm gonna say hallelujah! 47:50 The branches went back over the wall, right, 47:54 that those who wanted to accept it 47:56 may accept it as individuals. 47:58 Even though as a nation 47:59 we know probation closed for them. 48:01 But those branches went back over there 48:03 and He could feed the ones who wanted to be fed. 48:06 I thought that was so beautiful, 48:07 the vine stalk, 48:08 notice the vine stalk was no longer visible 48:12 because they cast it out. 48:13 They wanted to get rid, they killed Him. 48:15 Yeah, that's true. 48:16 There was opportunity to still come to Him. 48:19 I thought how wonderful that is. 48:20 And so notice, as it hung over the wall, 48:24 this vine represents... 48:25 People would come and people would accept that. 48:27 Now there's a word leading into this 48:29 we're going to see is how, 48:32 we talked about let this mind be in you, 48:33 which was also in Christ Jesus. 48:35 Well, how does that really take place in our life? 48:38 So now as people came to that, 48:41 the branches were coming over and whatever, 48:43 there was some grafting went on. 48:45 As we are grafted into certainly 48:47 the family of God. 48:48 Grafting is going on. 48:50 So that shows the connection between us and Christ 48:52 that we need that connection, 48:54 you know, desperately, we need that connection. 48:56 Then I jotted down something I thought was interesting. 48:58 It says we are grafted into the living vine 49:00 and notice how, Desire of Ages said, 49:03 "Fiber by fiber and vein by vein." 49:06 In other words, every part of that vine 49:09 and then you are the branches. 49:10 Branches are exactly like the vine, 49:11 we know that, fiber by fiber, vein by vein. 49:14 Now, the life of the vein now becomes the life of the branch. 49:19 Yes. Amen. 49:20 Now how do we have the mind of Christ? 49:23 Notice this, 49:25 Sue mentioned while ago, one said, 49:27 "We were dead in sin, trespasses and sin." 49:31 Now we receive, what? 49:32 His life through our connection with Christ. 49:35 Desire of Ages 675 says this, 49:38 "By faith in Him as a personal Savior." 49:41 Amen. 49:43 Maybe my childishness or whatever, I see it that way. 49:45 I see that personal Savior. 49:49 I see someone who's interested in somebody like me. 49:52 I'm astounded by that. I'm overwhelmed by that. 49:54 But I'm thankful to God that He sees something in me 49:58 that I don't see. 49:59 Amen. 50:01 He sees something in you 50:02 that maybe you don't see in yourself. 50:04 He sees, as I've always said, he sees the finished product. 50:06 Yes, He does. I've often told that. 50:07 Quickly there, my mother always did the... 50:11 What was it? The pillow slip thing? 50:13 You know, where you... 50:15 Embroidery Embroidery. 50:17 And, boy, she could do some beautiful ones. 50:19 When she got done on that, 50:21 it was such a pretty picture on it. 50:22 You look at that all hand sewn on there. 50:24 And one day she said, "Kenny, look at this." 50:27 She peeled it back and on the underneath side 50:30 it was a horrible mess of spaghetti almost. 50:33 It was spread every which directions, 50:35 thread overlapping, I couldn't figure out a thing. 50:37 And I said God is looking up as it were, 50:41 as we look up and what do we see? 50:44 I see a mess that can't be straightened out. 50:46 But God's looking from the top-down 50:48 and He sees a finished product 50:49 and what we can be doing for Him. 50:50 Amen. Thank you. 50:52 And I said, "Oh, hallelujah, praise the Lord." 50:53 He could straighten out this spaghetti mess, 50:55 you know, make us right with Him. 50:57 Notice how it reads on, 50:59 "By faith in Him as a personal Savior, 51:01 the union is formed. 51:02 The sinner writes his..." 51:04 Notice this, 51:05 "Unites his weakness to Christ's strength, 51:07 his emptiness." 51:09 Notice, "His emptiness to Christ's fullness, 51:11 now his frailty to Christ's enduring might." 51:14 Now notice the article says, the Desire of Ages 675, 51:18 "Then he has the mind of Christ." 51:21 This is where it all leads up to, 51:22 then he has the what? 51:23 When we unite with Him and everything, 51:26 when we're weak we become strong, right? 51:27 When this doesn't work... 51:29 It's all about Him. 51:30 Then we have the mind of Christ. 51:32 What do we have? 51:33 The humanity of Christ has touched our humanity. 51:37 Our humanity has reached around and touched divinity 51:41 so that we can become like Him. 51:43 I think how beautiful that is. 51:44 Just a couple seconds here, notice, 51:46 it says, this union once formed... 51:49 Think about it, somebody says, 51:50 "Well, I accepted Him as my Lord and my Savior 51:52 and that's all I've ever done." 51:53 Once this union is formed, once we're grafted in, 51:56 we must remain grafted in. 51:58 We have to maintain that together, 52:01 that life source and that power from Jesus Christ. 52:04 If we don't, we're cut off, right? 52:07 We die. 52:08 So we need to maintain that, Colossians 2:6 says, 52:11 "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, 52:15 so walk ye in Him." 52:18 So really just receiving Christ as our Lord and our Savior, 52:21 as we've done that, 52:23 all of our weaknesses become strengths 52:26 and then now we have the mind of Christ. 52:29 So, God, helped us to have that mind. 52:31 Absolutely. 52:32 So that beautiful vital union with the vine, 52:36 with Jesus gives us the mind of Christ. 52:39 And when we have the mind of Christ, 52:41 what do we need to do to protect it? 52:42 Mollie, to you. 52:44 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. 52:47 "For though we walk in the flesh." 52:49 I'm gonna start with verse 3. 52:50 "We do not war according to the flesh. 52:53 For the weapons of our warfare..." 52:55 Say we're in a war and we have weapons. 52:58 "Are not carnal but my mighty through God 53:00 to the pulling down strongholds." 53:02 And let me tell you what a stronghold is, 53:04 it's a sin or a sinful attitude that has fortified our strength 53:08 and until we can't overcome it. 53:11 So besetting sin you can't get rid off. 53:13 Another word for stronghold is fortress, 53:16 fortified area in your life 53:18 where Satan has built a wall around a sin 53:22 and it has us in a strong grip. 53:26 Mercy. It's a stronghold. 53:27 Now let's go back to verse 5, 53:29 "Casting down arguments and every high thing 53:32 that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, 53:35 bringing every," what, "every thought." 53:38 So we're talking about the mind of Christ 53:41 into captivity to the obedience of Christ. 53:44 When people come to the Lord, 53:47 their fight with the Lord is over 53:50 but their fight with the devil is not over. 53:53 The battle now rages. 53:55 And what is the enemy battling for? 53:59 It's our mind. He's battling for our mind. 54:03 Where would a stronghold be set up? 54:05 And I wanna go over this quickly. 54:07 It's in our minds. 54:09 Our actions are a result of what we think. 54:13 If we think wrong, our actions are wrong. 54:17 If we believe error, 54:18 and we touched on this a little earlier, 54:21 an error is anything 54:22 that is opposed to the Word of God, 54:23 then our actions will reflect what we believe. 54:27 Our actions reflect what we believe, 54:30 and we're to have the mind of Christ. 54:31 Now I want to give you an example 54:33 of what a stronghold is. 54:35 There's a scripture and it's in 2 Corinthians 5:8, 54:38 "We are confident, 54:40 yes, well pleased rather to be absent 54:42 from the body is to be present with the Lord." 54:44 Here's what a stronghold is. 54:46 And here's a stronghold 54:48 that I lived with for some time. 54:50 See, to be absent from the body is to be... 54:52 Present with the Lord 54:54 'cause the Word says so right here. 54:55 So somebody comes and try to tell me 54:59 that I haven't properly interpreted this 55:01 that this is error, 55:03 you're not gonna change me, honey. 55:04 I'm standing on the Word of God a stronghold. 55:07 Now if you study that, 55:08 what you find is I had believed error. 55:11 Now I'm just gonna quickly say, 55:13 what is the one thing that will overcome error? 55:16 And you shall know the truth 55:19 and the truth shall set you free. 55:21 So the weapons of our warfare, 55:23 go to the Ephesians 6 and read all of those weapons. 55:28 We don't have time to go over them now, 55:29 but let me just narrow it down 55:31 to the two most powerful weapons 55:34 that you've got in your arsenal, 55:36 and that's the Word of God and that's prayer. 55:40 And so if you have strongholds in your mind, 55:44 ask God by the power of His Spirit 55:46 to show them to you. 55:47 "Search me, O God, and know my heart, 55:49 try me, know my thoughts, 55:51 see if there any evil way in me." 55:53 And God by the power of His Spirit 55:55 will set you free of those strongholds. 55:56 Shelley? 55:57 You know what, it just occurred to me that... 56:00 First of all, JD reminded me, 56:02 we forgot to pray to begin with. 56:03 But we could have talked on this for hours. 56:07 And it is such a beautiful thing to know 56:10 we have been given the mind of Christ. 56:12 Here is the mind of Christ, right here, is it not? 56:15 I mean, this is where His mind is revealed to us. 56:20 And I believe the mind of Christ 56:22 is when we are humble like 56:24 He was totally dependent upon His Father 56:27 when He was on the earth. 56:28 And that same spirit of humility 56:30 needs to be in us 56:31 where we will be 56:33 totally dependent upon the Father. 56:34 Absolutely. 56:35 I cannot believe our time has flown so... 56:37 I am going to ask Jill, if you have our closing prayer, 56:42 we have just a few seconds. 56:43 We'll probably go out praying our prayer for you 56:46 is that the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, 56:49 The love of the Father, 56:51 and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit 56:53 will be with you always. 56:54 Amen. Let's pray. 56:55 Father, we come before You in the name of Jesus 56:58 and we thank You 56:59 that we have the mind of Christ. 57:02 We thank You 57:03 that we do not have to be conformed to this world, 57:05 but You by the power of Your spirit, 57:07 by the power of Your Word have transformed our minds 57:11 by the renewing of our minds. 57:13 Thank You that You enable us 57:15 to prove what is good and acceptable 57:18 and perfect will of God. 57:19 We thank You for Your truth, 57:21 for the sanctifying power of Your Word. 57:24 We thank You that You can cause us 57:26 to put to death the old man of sin 57:28 and that we can live anew in Christ Jesus. 57:33 We thank You that we are Your handiwork 57:37 and for the weapons 57:38 that You have given us to counteract the enemy. 57:41 We ask this in the precious and holy name of Jesus. 57:44 Amen. Amen. Amen. 57:46 Praise the Lord. |
Revised 2017-11-26