Renewed Mind
Dr. Tim Rivers | July 27th, 2025
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I'm so glad that you're in the house of God, and we also want to welcome all those who are watching online and that are in the overflow. Can we make some noise for all of our family that is in the world wide web? We're so glad to welcome everybody into this house. Every week it's such a joy to come here because you could have gone anywhere, especially in the DFW area, There are 55,000 churches you can choose from, and you decided to come here, and we pray that your experience here is one where you're drawing closer to God, where God is clarifying some things for you. And speaking of which, we are in a new series that we are calling Renew. And last week we talked about renewed vision. Did anybody walk off and have some fog removed out of your vision? I'm glad it hit three of y'all. But today we're going to continue in this series. But before we do, I have one announcement to make. Our fall groups are kicking off in September, and in preparation for that, we would like to have as many groups going around DFW as possible, which means that if you feel so inclined to be a group leader, then we would love for you to sign up for our new group leaders orientation. Just hit this QR code.
It happens next Sunday from 1 to 3. It's a great opportunity for us just to share what our heart is behind groups, where we stand, what we believe, what our culture is. And you may be like, well, I don't like to talk. You don't actually have to talk. You can just facilitate. We'll resource you with stuff. We've got videos. We've got notes. All you have to do is put the chips out and the dip. I've heard of groups literally barbecuing ribs. I want the name of that group, please. I'll sign up myself. But just join a group once they're open, but lead a group too. So if you feel so inclined, if you have, again, if you have hospitality on you, or you have a gift of leadership, God's calling you right now to become a group leader. So, before the day is over, register if you would. Could you stand to your feet? We're going to the book of Philippians chapter 2. The book of Philippians chapter 2. And we're going to really be in the scriptures today and in the notes. So, keep your Bibles open, and if you have a notepad, get ready. I'm going to give you a lot of material, and I pray the Lord will speak to you through this message. Philippians 2:5. If you have a paper Bible, say yes.
Yes.
Let me just say this. If you don't have one, we got you covered. Stop by the Welcome Center, we got Bibles. We use the ESV translation predominantly, so grab a Bible. Philippians 2:5, here it is. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God, a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant. Being born in the likeness of men and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. I want to really take my message from the first part, verse number 5. It says, have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. So today's topic, message title is Renewed Mind. Last week we talked about having a renewed vision. Today we're going to talk about a renewed mind. Here's why. You can receive renewed vision, but if your mindset doesn't change, it won't be long till your vision gets blurry again. Because what you see is produced by what you hear. What you hear is processed through the mind. So the man last week, his vision was clarified because he heard the words of Jesus. And the words of Jesus, once they were mixed in his mind, it clarified his vision. But if you go back to the same people whose minds are warped, it won't be long till you see the way they see. Lord, have your way today. Speak to us. Change our minds. Give us ears to hear, a heart to receive, a mind to understand what the word will say to us. Help us to walk out of here differently than the way we walked in. We give you the praise, glory, and honor, in Jesus' name. And everybody say amen. You may be seated.
Look at your neighbor. That's it. Just make sure they're awake. That's it. I got nothing else for you. If they're asleep, slap them. The mind is one of the most powerful parts of your being. It's interesting that what we do and what we see is all produced from the mind, but how many of us have ever stopped to think how we think? How many of us have ever processed how we process information? The brain is a very powerful thing because it governs your attitude, your decisions, your outlook, your reactions, your destiny. That's why the scripture even says that as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. In other words, what you think about produces who you are. And the scripture, when you read the Bible, the Bible says a lot about the mind. Because here's the truth, you cannot live a victorious life in Jesus with defeated mindsets. You cannot live a life full of goodness and truth if your mind is always believing lies. And so when we're looking at scripture, the scripture talks a lot about the mind and I want to give us a working definition from Philippians 2:5.
And I want to look at the word mind because the word mind is the Greek word for phroneo. It means to think, to have an attitude, to set one's mind or heart towards something, to be mentally disposed in a certain direction. It speaks not just to your intellectual thought, but it talks about a mindset. Now, there's a difference between just thinking and having a mindset. Because the mindset is the culmination of all the things that you think about. What you think about informs what you believe. What you believe becomes your internal culture. Your internal culture then establishes a mindset, meaning you're set in your mind to do this certain thing. So if you meet somebody and they have an attitude every time, anybody ever met someone like that? You're like, whoa, I just said good morning. It's because of their mindset. So we're going to talk about this, but in order to understand the mind, we need to look at scripture and figure out if we're going to renew our mind, we have to understand the condition of the mind in the first place. So if you're taking notes, I want you to take these notes. We're going to talk about how to understand the mind. Here's point number one. Point number one is we start with a warped mind. We start with a warped mind. You do not automatically have the mind of Christ. And I know you've met some people that you're like, I know their mind is warped.
Here's the truth. We are not born with the mind of Christ, we're born with the mind of Adam. And when Adam fell, Adam and Eve fell, it did not just fracture the world, it fractured the mindset of humanity. Because what you begin to see is after the fall of Adam and Eve, there is a deterioration within the mindset of humanity that is not predisposed to God, but more so predisposed to itself. So, Paul addressed this in 1 Corinthians 2:14. He says this, the natural person does not accept the things of the spirit of God, for they are folly to him, they're foolishness to him. And he is not able, somebody say not able, not able to understand, somebody say understand, them because they are spiritually discerned. Now, the word understand is the Greek word for ginosko. It means to grasp intellectually. It means to get the meaning of something. What Paul is saying is the natural person, the unregenerated person is not only in the position to where they cannot understand it, they're unable to. And there's a difference between not wanting to and not able to. There are some things when you tell your kids, maybe you have a child that's one year old and you say, God wants you to live in obedience. It's not that they don't just understand you but they also are incapable of, because their brain hasn't matured. And this is what Paul says, Paul says that there are some spiritual things that God wants to give you. There are some insights that God wants to give you that he cannot give to those who have a warped mindset.
In fact, in that same chapter earlier on, this is what he says, he's speaking to, remember the church of Corinth who elevate the works of the spirit, but are very slow to let their minds and their intellect be carved out by the will of the spirit. So this is what he says in 1 Corinthians 2:4, he says, for my speech and my message were not implausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. Now, depending on the church that you grew up in, this scripture oftentimes is used in isolation. And it's used as an excuse for malpractice of the scriptures. Oftentimes, there are a lot of preachers and teachers who will not submit themselves to studying the scriptures. They don't know... Oh Lord, help me Lord. Lord, I don't want to do it, but I'll do it anyways. They use this passage to try to justify not being a student of the word and just going for power. "We don't need the Greek and the Hebrew, we just need power." Well, the Bible is written in Greek and Hebrew. "We don't need to study and have intellect, we just need power." Here's the thing, Paul says, those who are immature need power alone. But check out verse 6, yet among the what? The mature, we do impart wisdom. Although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age who are doomed to pass away, but we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God which God decreed before the ages of our glory. So Paul says the natural mind cannot understand the things of God. Why? Because your unregenerated mind is warped and bent towards sin. And here's the thing, we don't naturally think the way God thinks. We don't naturally want what God wants. We don't instinctively value what God values. That's why Romans 2:12 says, be not conformed to this world but be transformed by what?The renewing of your mind. Isn't it interesting that he doesn't say be transformed in your behavior?
He doesn't say be transformed in what you do. He says be transformed in your mind. Why? Because Paul understood that if I can get your mind right then I can get your behavior right. Point number two, our minds were once hostile to God. Now, we don't like this part because we like to think that before we came to Christ that our minds were neutral. I wasn't a bad person. I just didn't know God. Well, scripture makes it plain in Colossians chapter 1:21. He says, and you who once were alienated and hostile in what? Mind. Doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled. Now, I want you to notice that Paul doesn't say, and you who once were alienated and hostile in your evil deeds had a hostile mind. He says, no, you were alienated in your hostile mind and you were doing evil deeds. Why? Because everything you do is produced from the fruit of your mind. Show me someone's behavior and I can tell you their thinking. Notice he says hostile mind. Before Christ, our thoughts were not neutral toward God. They were opposed to God. The unregenerated mind is not a mind that is neutral toward the things of God. The unregenerated mind is actually opposed. It's about self-exaltation. It's about pride. It's about me, me, me, me, me. How much more are we going to talk about me? The culture is all about me right now. What I want. What I deserve. What I need. Well, what about me? Check this out. Every evil or hostile deed is a result of an unregenerated, unsubmitted mind. Show me what someone thinks about and I can predict their behavior. Because our mind is the factory that produces our behaviors.
So when you see somebody acting crazy, just know that's the fruit, not the root. You got to get to the mind. When your kids are doing things and you just try to fix their behavior, they will become hypocrites. They just won't do it in front of you, so you got to go deeper. You got to get to the mindset. You got to get to their heart. Hey, we don't want you just to clean this room because we said it, we want you to value cleanliness. Now, you're still going to clean your room. Don't get it twisted. But check this out. He ends by saying he has now reconciled you. The word reconciled means to renew or restore. So, God says, the scripture says, hey listen, you have a warped mind. You have a mind that's opposed to God. But here's the opportunity. God, when he saves you, is working to reconcile your thinking so that your behavior follows. Not the other way around. Sometimes we think that behavior is going to change the mind. No, the mind changes behavior. Number three, we have access to the mind of Christ. Let's look at 1 Corinthians 2:16. He says, but we have the mind of Christ. Now, that doesn't mean that when you have the mind of Christ that you're perfect, that you're omniscient, that you're all of a sudden divine. It means that you take on Christ's attitude and characteristics. It means that you value God's mindset over your own mindset. Now, you have access to it, but it doesn't mean that you have it yet.
You have access to the mind of Christ through the Holy Spirit, but you have to make a deliberate choice to go put it on. Philippians 2:5 says this, have this mind among yourself which is yours in Christ Jesus. That word have this mind is both an invitation and a command. Now, today I want to walk through, I want to go back to our passage in Philippians chapter 2, and I want to walk through, I want to give you four points of how to receive a renewed mind looking at this passage of Scripture in Philippians chapter 2. First, point number one, is you have to desire the mind of Christ. If you want to receive a renewed mind, you have to desire the mind of Christ. Philippians 2:5, have this mind among yourself which is yours in Christ Jesus. The first step to receiving a Christ-like mind is you gotta want it. It's available and it's on the table, but you have to actually pick it up and put it on. You don't instinctively want to put on the mind of Christ. Why? Because it goes against everything that you naturally are disposed to. I want life, the mind of Christ says, choose death. I want elevation, the mind of Christ said, humble yourself. I want the job that I want. Christ said, take the job that's given to you.
Can we go back to renewed vision? I like that one. Here's the thing, I want you to notice this, look at Paul's language, he says, have this mind. The word have, and in KJV it says, let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus. The word let or have literally means to direct one's mind to a thing, to seek, to strive for. It literally means when it says, have this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus, it means lead your thoughts toward the mentality of Christ. In other words, you, by the power of the Holy Spirit, have to direct your thoughts. Did you know that you have to capture your thoughts and lead them in the right direction? But sir, my thoughts run off with me. That's the problem. You gotta catch your thoughts, and then you have to choose to follow sfter a mindset of Christ. Colossians 3:2 says this, set your mind on things that are above, not on things on earth. Now, why is this important? The word set means to literally lay down something. And you have an opportunity with your mind or your mindset to set it down on whatever you choose. For some people, they set their mind, they lay their mind down on things that are unstable, on the culture, on what I want. The problem is, when your mind is set on something that is unstable, then when the wind blows and the storms of life come and your mind is set on something that's shifty, you have a shifty mind. But if you set your mind on something that is stable, even in times of rockiness, then when your world is rocking, your mind won't fall apart. Have you ever seen someone that every time they're in the middle of the storm, they got some kind of collapse? It's because their mind isn't set on the right thing. Their mind is set on things of this earth, the stock market, their job, their relationship, other people, and when those people are rocky, then they're rocky.
Let me give you some practical ways that you can desire the mind of Christ. Number one is pray daily. Here it is. Lord, help me see things how you see them. Simple prayer, very easy to pray, but has profound impact on you. Because most of the times we don't see the way Christ sees. We see this person cutting us off in traffic through the flesh. I want to throw hands. Lord, help me to see the way you see. Lord, I don't see it. Lord, I'm struggling. Here's another point. Fill your mind with Scripture. Remember, the word of God are the words of God, His word reshapes your worldview. If you listen to the word of God, it will change the way your mindset works. Number three is reject toxic thoughts. Here's what 2 Corinthians 10:5 says, take every thought, what? Captive. You know what that means? It means to arrest. So literally, Paul is saying, when your thought is starting to run away, arrest it. It's a runaway inmate. Well, what am I supposed to do? Run after it. Capture it. Arrest it. Arrest your thoughts. When your thoughts are starting to lead you down a different path, let me tell you, every behavior begins with a thought. So when someone says to me, I'm struggling with pornography, I say, that is a fruit, not a root. What were you thinking about before? Well, if you can arrest the thought, you can change the behavior. And when you arrest it, don't just put it in the back of the vehicle and negotiate with it, Take it to jail, give it a life sentence, and lock it up. And make up in your mind, I will not think that way any longer.
Okay. Okay. Okay. Okay. But if you want to do that, here's the thing, you got to evaluate your influences. What you listen to. Can I be pastoral? I'm going to be pastoral anyway. What you listen to influences your thoughts. Well, I just like the beat. I just like the vibes. I like what it does to me, man. It's my soul music. Okay. Can you get the track without the words? Because while you're listening to it, it's influencing your thought life. It is impossible, check this, impossible to be listening to things that glorify immorality, sexuality, lasciviousness, and it not crawl its way into your mind. Well, I don't know why I'm having these dreams. What were you listening to before you went to bed? Because dreams is you recollecting the thoughts you had during the day. What is it real? Watch what you're watching. Because what you watch is informing your mind and it informs what you think about. So if you want to change your behavior, you got to change your thought. If you want to change your thoughts, you got to watch what you're listening to and watch what you're watching. And watch who you're around. Because people influence your thoughts more than anything. And if you're around negative people, you will have negative thoughts. Have you ever been around somebody who is so negative and you walk off and you're like, man, why am I struggling to focus? Is it just me? I've been around some people that I'm like, Lord, have mercy. Now I know better. But help me to see them as you see them.
Point number two, walk in humility. Philippians 2:6, it says, who though he was in the form of God did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. If you want the mind of Christ, you must walk the path of humility. Pride is the number one factor that is a resistance against the mind of Christ. Why? Because your natural mind wants to elevate self. Your natural mind wants to fight for your rights and your ambition and what you want. And you want to win the argument. Anybody struggle with that? Just me and one person in the back. Anybody ever want to... Anybody have a winner's mindset but you take it too far? You can't even play Uno? Can I be honest with y'all? We were playing sequence. Anybody ever played sequence? Great game. It was me and we were playing teams, me and Zion against Zara and my mom. Okay. We're playing. And when you're in a team, you're not supposed to speak out loud. So we're playing, everything's going good. We're getting right there. Me and Zion about to get our sequence. My mom and Zara are close as well. So my mom says this to Zara, "Hey, do you have a one-eyed jack?" And I said, "Wait a minute, what are you doing?" And she said, "Okay. Just pay attention." She's talking to Zara. And I said, "Y'all are cheating." She said, "I didn't tell her where to put it." I said, "But you led her to it." So now me and Zion are upset because we know we're so close to winning. They end up taking one of our chips and they win the game. And me and Zion are looking at each other. And I'm trying to control myself because as the parent, I'm supposed to be like, you know what? This is just a game. I said, forget that. I'll repent later.
Son, they cheated. We're the real winners. Then I said, don't worry, it's just a game. But you have to take the position of humility. Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking of yourself less. And a lot of times we think humility is you being a doormat, and it's not that. Christ was never a doormat. He just did not use who he was to his advantage to twist people into his will. He knew who he was. Luke chapter 4, Jesus stands up and says, by the way, the scriptures, they're about me. And then guess what he does? What is his next step? He sat down. When you know who you are, you can sit down. That was for free. The fallen human mind is full of self-exaltation, entitlement, pride. That's why Jesus' mindset is so radical, because he didn't demand a horse, he chose a donkey. He didn't exalt himself, he washed feet. James 4:6 says, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Now, how do you do this in a practical sense? Number one, admit your need for God daily. You want to keep your pride in check? Admit that you need help. Admit to the Lord, Lord, I need your help today. I ain't got it all figured out. Two is serve others without needing recognition. Can you serve someone without posting it on social media? Is that possible anymore? Yo, what up? Out here feeding the homeless.
Can you just feed the homeless and us not know about it? Because guess what, your likes, that's your reward. And that's what the scripture says? That if you seek to get accolades for what you've done on earth and you get them, that's it. You're not storing up nothing else. That's it. I would rather have rubies in heaven. You know what I'm saying? I'd rather have an extra little bedazzle on my crown. Here's another way, celebrate other's success instead of competing with it. Have you ever been around someone where you tell them something good that's happened in your life and they give you their story? You're like, this is not your moment right now. Your moment is coming. But can we celebrate people without making it about ourselves? Here's another one, let go of your right to always be right. Sequence. I will say this, we did beat them the next couple games. I just want to put that out there. Not out of pride or arrogance, I just want to be honest with y'all. The mind of Christ makes you less concerned about being seen and more concerned about serving.
Point number three, embrace servanthood. Look at Philippians 2:7, he says, but he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. Now, Jesus not only humbled himself, but he also took on the form of a servant. That word servant is the word doulos, which is another word for bond servant. Now, bond servant is a little different than a slave. Because a bond servant is one who chooses to serve. A slave is someone who did not have a choice. They simply were born into slavery or they were captured and became a slave. But a bond servant is a slave who's been released by the master and then makes the decision, hey, my life out here ain't that great. I would rather serve in your house and have all the things that you provide me. So a bond servant is someone who chooses to serve the master, who doesn't have to but chooses to do so. And what Jesus did is Jesus willingly became a servant. To have the mind of Christ is to shift from a life of selfish ambition to a life of selfless mission where you make it not about yourself but about being Christ to somebody else. Look at Mark 10:45, for even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to what? Give his life as a ransom for many.
Here's a practical application. Ask yourself, how can I bless somebody today? How can I bless somebody? What can I do? Can I give them a word of encouragement? Can I buy them a coffee? Can I randomly do something nice for them? How can I serve somebody today? This is totally against the culture. Because the culture says, what can you do for me? Here are my rights. What can you do to elevate me? And the way of Jesus says, listen, stop waiting for titles and look for towels. Can you serve in the role that you're in until God elevates you? Serve when it's inconvenient, not just when it's easy. Serve when it's inconvenient, not just when it's easy. Here's a thought. The mind of Christ transforms your position into a platform for ministry. You don't need a microphone. You just need a willing heart, a servant's heart.
Point number four, last point. Live in obedience. How do you put on the mind of Christ? You have to live in obedience. Philippians 2:8 says this, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. See, true transformation always leads to obedience. Always leads to obedience. And for many people, the word obedience is a curse word because it makes you feel subservient. When somebody says, obey me, you're like this, what? Imagine if your boss asked you to do something and you said, great, I'll do it. And then you follow that with, thanks for your obedience. How many of you else would be like, wait a minute? I mean, I was willing to do it, but obedience? Like, what are we talking about? But isn't you doing something that you're asked to do, obedience? So when Christ says be obedient, we're like, I'm willing to do it, but can you use a different word? Maybe compliant. But compliancy is not the same as obedience. Compliancy is, I'll do it but my heart's not in it. Obedience says, I'll do it, my heart's in it, and I'll do it for you. Whoa. Here's the thing. This is not a partial surrender. Because look what it says. He became obedient to the point of death. Not just, I'm willing to die. Paul makes it clear just in case everyone has any doubts about this, even death on a cross. A cross was a death only reserved for those who were disobedient, who deserved, who were criminals. Jesus was so obedient to the will of the Father that his obedience went into the realm of what other people would think is disobedience.
You may have to go back and listen to that again. Because here's the thing. Your level of obedience has to be so deep that other people think you're crazy for doing it. Other people will not understand why you're willing to sacrifice for Christ to a level of death, unless they also have the mind of Christ and understand. Jesus was so willing to be obedient to the will of the Father that he was willing to go to the point where other people thought he was crazy. Are you obedient to that level to where other people think you're crazy for doing that? When Janiece and I were getting ready to get married, I was preaching a message. It was mission Sunday, and I was preaching a message about who will go? And I said this, who's going to go to Africa? Who's going to go to Europe? And then, I'm half Sri Lankan. My mom's from Sri Lanka. I said, who's going to go to Sri Lanka? And I mean, just when I said it, I felt like the Holy Spirit said, you are. I said, wait a minute. I'm trying to get other people to be obedient, what are we talking about? And so, it hit me so hard that afterwards I was like, I have never imagined myself as a missionary. I love missions, but I didn't think I would be a full-time missionary. But I couldn't shake it. So finally, I prayed about it, prayed about it, sought counsel about it. I didn't tell Janiece. Janiece and I were engaged. I already picked out our apartment, already had the registry going, and I said, "How am I going to break this to Janiece two months before the wedding?" And I talked to a friend, and I said, "Hey, I'm in this quandary because I feel like the Lord is calling us to go to Sri Lanka, but my fiancé don't know that." He said, "Well, you should share it. And based on her response, that's going to give you an indication if y'all are meant to be together or not." I said, "ooh, okay. Those are some strong words, brother." So one day, Janiece and I were driving. I said, "Hey, man, have you ever thought about maybe doing some mission work? Like just traveling the world, you know what I'm saying?" She was like, "Oh, yeah, I thought that would be awesome."
I said, "Great. I feel like God wants us to move to Sri Lanka." She said, "Okay. Cool." And I said, "Wait a minute. Did you actually hear what I said? I said move, like, not live here, one-way ticket." She goes, "Yeah." I said, "Okay." So you know what we did? We got married. For three months, we raised money. We bought a one-way ticket. We moved to Sri Lanka. We had nothing waiting for us. We had no apartment. We had nothing. We just moved by faith. And we moved there. And people thought we were crazy. When are y'all coming back? We don't know. Because God's going to test your obedience to the level to where people disagree with it. Do you really think you should do that? Yeah. Is it really the timing? Yeah. Well, we've always been with you. So? This is a different level. Listen, in our culture, we want Jesus without the cross. We want resurrection without death. We want healing without suffering. We want power without sacrifice. We want anointing without consecration. We want elevation without submission. We want access without commitment. We want to reap without planting. Everyone wants a bush, nobody wants to get seeds. But the mind of Christ calls us to obedience even when it's painful. Here's the practical. How do you surround yourself with the mindset of obedience? Forgive when you'd rather hold a grudge. Forgive when you'd rather hold a grudge. Well, they didn't ask for forgiveness. It ain't about them. It's about you. It's about what is God trying to do in you. And if he asks you to forgive, obey him. Speak truth when it would be easy to stay silent. Follow God's direction even when it costs comfort, reputation, and security. Do it wisely. Do it with wisdom. Surround yourself by people who walk with the Lord. Who love you. But that's obedience. Here's the thing. The mind of Christ leads us to obedience. The mind of Christ leads us to obedience.
Now, the journey to a renewed mind begins with a simple but profound prayer. Are you ready for this? Lord, I don't just want to think about you, I want to think like you. I don't just want to think about Christ, I want to think like him. Let my thoughts, let my ambition, let the culture of my mind be submitted to Christ to such a level that my behavior is an outflow of a Christ-centered mindset. Will it agree with everybody? No. Do you sometimes have to step out of the room? Do you sometimes have to excuse yourself from the conversation? Do you sometimes have to turn the volume down? Do you sometimes have to turn your eye away? Am I getting practical? Because the mind of Christ will be offended by things that are opposed to the Spirit. And when you truly walk in the mind of Christ, there are some things, many things, that will make you uncomfortable. You were born with a mind that was alienated from Christ, but Christ has come to redeem it, to renew it, to restore it, so that you can think like Christ. No action done has not first passed through the mind. So when you keep doing the same thing over and over, and you're wondering why you're doing it, and you're asking everybody to pull you aside to some room and pray these spirits up off of you, could it be that you just need to change your mind? Could it be that what's actually influencing you is not evil spirits? It's your mindset? That you keep feeding on the same stuff that's corrupting your mindset and it's causing your behaviors? Because you're not able to squash the lust in your spirit because you keep listening to things that elevate lust? Am I just getting... Can I be real?
A lot of times what we think are just spiritual opposition is really worth mind and thinking. So you need God to restore your mind back to the intention that he had for the mind at the beginning. Can you think? Be fruitful. Multiply. Replenish your... Do it. Do it for God. Do it for the kingdom of God. I'm a representative agent of God. My mind needs to change. Test my mind so I can think like Christ, so I can move like Christ, so I can breathe like Christ, so that my actions are Christ-like. My thought patterns are directed by Christ. You want to change and transform your world? Think like Christ. Like, man, Christ turned the world upside down. Yes. You have access to that same mindset. Do you want it? Do you want it? What is it going to cost you? Your old mindset. But that's my favorite artist.
But what does it cost to you? That's my favorite movie. What does it cost to you spiritually? Can we stand to our feet? Is this message convicting some people? Oh yes. Here's what's interesting. You want to know what's interesting? You know what I know? That even while I'm preaching a message on the mind, there are many in here your mind is wandering. You're thinking about bills that are due. You're thinking about, oh, I got to call this person tomorrow. I got to make sure my calendar is right. I got to have lunch with this person. What am I going to tell them? And you're formulating thoughts. You're wondering, when is he done? My stomach is growling. But you can be in the presence of God and not think about God. Isn't that what happened with Mary and Martha? Jesus is in the house. Martha's worried about pots and pans. She's worried about chicken and dumplings. And there's a time for that. There's a time for that. Mary was thinking about Jesus. Because we can get to the chicken and dumplings later. But while he's here, I'm going to be at his feet. Because I don't know if I'll get this chance to just receive from the Master. Can you orient your mind toward Christ?
Can you close your eyes, bow your head, say, even in this moment, for the next minute and a half, just empty your mind of everything that may be distracting you. For some, it's fear. For some, it's regret. For some, it's condemnation of even what has happened over the last couple of days. For some, you're here and you're under the bondage of regret. You've been wanting to get free from this thing, but it seems to just bind you and pull you. Just empty your mind right now from all those things, all those weights that so easily beset us. Just kind of cast them aside and then fix your mind, your thoughts, your mind's eye on the Lord. Say, but I don't know how to do it. Just imagine being in the presence of the Lord, in the room with the glory of God. Imagine the scenery that Isaiah depicted. You're in a room. The Lord is high and lifted up. The angels are filling the temple. The glory of God is in the presence. And you are right there in the presence of God, not worried about who's around you, what you've got going after us. You're in the presence of the Lord.
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Lord, as we stand in your presence, we submit our mind to you for full restoration. Lord, I pray that you would touch us this week so that we would think the way you think, that if there are any thoughts that are unlike you, that are geared towards selfishness or ambition or pride or arrogance or sin or evil, I pray that there would be the conviction of the Holy Spirit that would convict us to capture those thoughts and bring them back into alignment with you. For the scripture says that you will keep them in perfect peace whose minds are stayed on you. And so, Lord, if there's people in here who are troubled, people that are watching online who are troubled, I pray that they would put their mind on you so that they can experience the peace that surpasses all understanding. We give you the praise, the glory, and the honor in Jesus' name. Everybody say amen. Amen. Hey, I want our prayer team to come up.
As they're coming, I just kind of sense that there may be someone in here that you've been struggling. You've been struggling in your mind with just trying to orient your mind toward the things of God. But redirecting your mind takes practice. They call it neuroplasticity. It means that your mind is able to be shifted and moved. Once you think in a certain way, you can read about this. We've got psychologists in the room. You can read about this, but once you think a certain way, your brain literally has patterns of thinking. It's almost like a groove that your brain has to think toward a certain way. Now, the good thing is there is neuroplasticity. You're able to shift the grooves in your mind by redirecting your thoughts. So if you're always thinking this way, capture it and begin to think the opposite direction. Listen to worship music. Start watching "The Chosen."
Whatever it takes. Some of y'all are like, well, how do I do that? Listen, if I offend you, be willing to cut it out. If your hand offends you, it'd be better for you to go to heaven, halved and lame. It's better for you to have a victorious life, a victorious mindset, and get rid of all the stuff that keeps pushing you in the wrong direction. Now, if you're ready to start that journey, you may need someone to pray over you. Come up here. Let somebody pray with you. Tell them, hey, listen, I need my mind to be reoriented toward Christ. I've been struggling in my mind. I feel like everything else is good around me, but my mind ain't right. Come up here and get some prayer, all right? We love you so much. We'll see you here next week. God bless you and live a renewed life.
