Sermon Series

• All sermons

Speaker: Rev. Shine Thomas
Posted on: 2011-07-24
Series: Success

Introduction

We all dream to have good, successful lives and many times the reality is just opposite to what we anticipate. We strive for success but get discouraged on the way, we want to have peace but we face conflicts, we want to walk by the Spirit but we end up gratifying the desires of the flesh.

I want to tell you today that Jesus Christ has already prepared a highway of abundant life (peace, success, prosperity, joy) for you. The way is already prepared and the key to attain your destiny is your mind.

Today we are going to see how we can renew our mind.

Romans 8:5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. Walking by the Spirit and walking by the flesh is in our mind. Success and failure is in your mind. The key is your mind. Everything in our life including living in the spirit, living in the flesh, depression, suicide, falling in love, hatred, humility, pride, success all originates from our mind or our thoughts. It is very important to control our thoughts.

Do you know we have an amazing mind? Our mind can go back into the past and think about all the good and bad experiences of our life, and in no time it can zoom into the future and imagine all kinds of good and bad things. One moment the mind can think positive thoughts and the very next moment it can be filled with all sorts of negativity. If we want to enjoy the good life that God has given us we need to be free in our mind.

Prince Gautama Siddhartha the founder of Buddhism: “All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.” I think the credit should be given to God and the Holy Bible because it is already mentioned in the Bible.

Proverbs 23:7 For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. We become what we think. Where the mind goes the man follows.

You know there is a connection between what you think where you reach in life. What we think gets filled up in our heart. What is in our heart is what we speak. Luke 6:45 For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. What we speak becomes our attitude. Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue. (It is important what you speak – If you say your condition will never change it will never change) What our attitude is what we become. So our thoughts are directly related to what we become. If you can control your mind you can control your destiny.

Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing, and perfect will.

AMP Do not be conformed to this world (this age), [fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs], but be transformed (changed) by the [entire] renewal of your mind [by its new ideals and its new attitude], so that you may prove [for yourselves] what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect [in His sight for you].

Paul is writing this letter to the believers at Rome. Listen, Paul is not telling them to change their heart. If Paul wrote to the nonbelievers he would have asked them to be born again, change you heart. But to the believers Paul is writing to renew your mind. After a person decides to follow Christ, he has a changed heart but he still has the mind of the world. We need to take the worldly thinking out of our mind and start to think spiritually.

From ages people have put spirituality and worldliness in deeds, rituals, and customs. Where is worldliness? It is in the mind. It is not in the clothes. Worldliness can affect our clothes. You do not become spiritual when you fast. When you sing good praise and worship songs. Spirituality and worldliness is in your mind and we need to renew our mind.

Our mind is trained to think according to the world. We go to school to be educated and be successful in the world. Our education system itself trains us to think according to the flesh. We have not gone to any education system that trains us according to the Spirit. Forget education, the devil controls everything in this world and he makes us think in his way. He controls the newspaper, TV, cinemas, music etc and we grew up listening to all this. We grew up with his mindset and we need to change our mindset to walk in the spirit.

How can I transform my mind?

How can we change our mindset?

1. Demolish strongholds of the mind

Stronghold is a fortress, it is an area where the enemy bunkers in. The enemy has spent your entire lifetime building all kinds of strongholds in your mind and we need to demolish the thoughts of the world that has impacted our mind.

2 Corinthians 10:3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. What are the weapons of the world? Pride, ego, jealousy, greed, selfishness, power, lust etc are some of the worldly weapons. The enemy has bunkered our mind with these thoughts. We think in these ways.

The people of the world constantly use these weapons and we are not to use these weapons back on them because our weapons are different. 2 Corinthians 10:4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. Our weapons have the power to demolish every stronghold of the devil including the stronghold of our mind.

2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God.
KJV Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God.

a. Cast down the stronghold of imagination.
Imagination means the act or power of forming mental images of what is not actually present. Imaginations are unreal and dreamed up. We all imagine a lot. We imagine good as well as bad things. According to the Bible all our imaginations are evil.

Genesis 8:21 The imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth.

Imagination leads to the death of relationships. Now the problem with imagination is that it can make you very critical about others. Imaginations can break marriages, ruin children, break churches and break relationship. Imagination leads to misunderstanding. Do not believe anything unless you have heard or seen something.

Secondly, imagination can lead to sin. Sin starts from our mind and we can be led into sin if we use our imagination for thinking worldly.

Thirdly, imagination makes as feel weak and small in crunch, trying situations. In our imaginations we make ourselves very small and make our problems big. Our problems are not that big, our kids are not really a problem. It is the stronghold of the mind. The devil makes you think so. No we have to get our minds made up. Enough is enough, make up your mind not to imagine bad but imagine good about every circumstance.

But if our thoughts are fixed on Jesus, then our imagination will never go wrong. We will have peace of mind and the right imagination over whatever circumstances the devil brings against us. Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! So the key is to cast down the stronghold of imagination and fix our thoughts on Jesus.

V5. KJV 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;

Every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God: Every thought that comes between us and God. Our mind is a fortress which is constructed from our childhood with all kinds of thoughts. Our thoughts are filled with selfishness, pride, ego, lust. All our thoughts from childhood to youth hood to adulthood are all not good thoughts. They are not thoughts to glorify God. Therefore we need to bring down the thoughts of the world to renew our mind.

When we control our imagination and bring down the thoughts of the flesh, then we will be able to bring every thought of ours captive to the obedience of Christ.

2. Have the mind of Jesus

In Christ Jesus we have such an example of a man who held his thoughts captive. When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, he held his thoughts captive. In the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus held his thoughts captive. On the cross Jesus held his thoughts captive and completed his mission for us. So if we have the mind of Christ we can overcome the thoughts of the flesh.

Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.

What is the mind of Christ?

Paul makes it very clear in v3 what the mind of Christ is not and what the mind of Christ is.

What the mind of Christ is not? Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. The mind of Christ is not selfish ambition and vein conceit (pride). Selfishness and pride is the thought of the world.

The world is self seeking. It always sees what is good for me, my family, what can I benefit out of it.

Illustration: What are the criteria we look for when we get married or when we get our children married? Ex: What caste? What is the colour? Education? Work? Salary? I have hardly heard anyone asking how spiritual he or she is. Such thoughts are all thoughts of selfishness based on what can I gain out of that relationship.

The newspapers and television advertisements which tempts us to buy things. This is deception born out of selfishness and pride. We end up buying the same things what we already have. If you go through your wardrobe you can find how many dresses you have bought at the nick of the moment and now you are not using it.

These are fortresses. Overbuying is out of selfishness. Do not do anything in life out of selfishness or pride. To bring the thoughts of selfishness and pride captive we need to have the mind of Christ.

What is the mind of Christ? Philippians 2:4 Rather, in humility (of mind) value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

The mind of Christ is humility and looking to the interest of others. Like Jesus where he left heaven and came to the dark world, he thought of our interest and came down. We have to put on humility and look into the interest of others.

Now what is the basis of our humility: Philippians 2:1-2 1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.

The basis of our humility and considering others better than us is derived from what Christ has done for us. It is because we have encouragement in Christ that we are able to be humble and selfless.

Conclusion

Proverbs 23:7 For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. I have spoken to you how to transform your mind. Do not let the devil steal your destiny. Some of you have not got victory because you are always thinking negative. Start thinking the way God thinks about you. If we cannot get our mind renewed we can never enjoy the abundant life God has for you.