Protect the Brain - Kingdom Mind Renewal

Second Timothy chapter 4, verse one through 5 Tonight we're

2 Timothy 4 · chapter mention

going to be talking about protect the brain.

You want to. We need to protect the brain.

Amen. Second Timothy four one through

5 says this. I solemnly charge you in the

presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is the judge of the

living and the dead, and by his appearing and His Kingdom.

Preach the word. Be ready in season and out of

season. Approve, rebuke, exhort with

great patience and instruction for the time will come when they

will not endure sound doctrine but wanting to have their ears

tickled. Just look at go touch your

neighbor and tickle their now the ones are like I'm not

married to you, what are you doing?

I'm just seeing what you would do anyway.

Well, the time will come when they will not endure sound

doctrine but wanting to have their ears tickled.

They will accumulate for themselves teachers in

accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears

from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

But you, Paul, talking to Timothy, be sober in all things,

endure hardship, do the work of the evangelist, fulfill your

ministry. So again, you know, we've been

talking about the reigning spirit this year and and many

times when we have been. Launching into something to

remind us that this is the year of the reigning spirit where

we're taking time to understand that the Holy Spirit is the

reigning Spirit is his voice who is only speaking on behalf of

the King. His name is Jesus who sits at

the right hand of the Father who's only speaking on behalf of

the Father. And we are to listen to that

voice and be empowered by that voice and that spirit alone.

But he is also. And we say, you know, in the

last days, some will fall away from the faith because they're

paying attention to doctrines of demons and seducing spirits.

So here we we see that Paul in this conversation with Timothy

is letting us know that because of doctrines of demons and

seducing spirits, which means it is not our battles never against

flesh and blood. So even if someone is not

preaching something accurate is who are they?

What spirit are they listening to?

A lot of times we attack the person that's speaking when

really they're just listening and it would be better to say,

Lord, we bond that spirit that's, you know, causing them

to say things or keeping a veil over their eyes is why Paul said

pray that the eyes of their understanding would be

enlightened that they may know what is the hope of your calling

right. They they would receive

revelation, knowledge or or spiritual.

Insight, right? And that we, you know.

But when you're around family members, people at work,

whatever the case may be, and there may be something that

they're seeing in scripture or saying in Scripture that's not

entirely accurate. Instead of attack, deal with the

Spirit. OK, deal with the Spirit because

know this, you, you need to be convinced of this in faith.

And that is the Holy Spirit is clearly talking to.

Everyone. If I didn't have that hope, I

would probably get out of ministry if I didn't have that

hope. But because the Scripture says

he does that, then I know and I know that the scripture says

that we'll all be without excuse.

And this, this particular passage, he says, listen, Jesus

Christ, who is the judge of who? Not just the dead, but the

living, those that are in Christ, those that are born

again. So there is obviously a judgment

seat that is associated with the believer.

Now, again, that's not being condemned and cast into the lake

of fire. It is a, a judgment seat for

rewards for how you live this thing out in Christ, being led

by the Spirit, listening to the only true spirit, the reigning

Spirit and following him with all your heart, soul, mind and

strength. OK, and you know, so there's

that judgment, but then there's the judgment of the Great White

Throne judgment, which which is those who have rejected Jesus

Christ as Lord and and they'll be.

Cast into the Lake of Fire, which is the second.

Death, but Jesus is going to judge on both accounts and so he

admonishes us that we need to make sure that we are hearing

and the Holy Spirit is speaking to us all.

This is why the Bible says we're without excuse.

You understand, the lost and the saved are without excuse.

So again, you know as well as I do, especially parents, when you

tell your children, you know, to do something and then you come

back around to them and then they're like, oh, I didn't hear

that. And you know, your response is

like, you're lying. Yes, you're, you heard me.

Well, you know, a lot of times people act like they are not

hearing God, but he's talking. He is talking.

So there is no such thing as a scenario that someone could

stand before Jesus one day and say, I never heard from you.

It could never happen because the Scripture says He's talking

and he's clear. I mean, he's so clear that while

you were dead in your transgressions and sin, he spoke

to you to receive Jesus. And you heard his voice,

recognized it was of God in your guilt and shame, and decided

you're no longer going to run and hide, but you're going to

yield. You're going to bow your knee,

you're going to make a confession of faith.

And you came out of the domain of darkness into the Kingdom of

his beloved Son. Amen.

And if you're lost and can hear the Holy Ghost, well, how much

more when you're born again in the same spirit that Christ is,

and the Holy Ghost moves in on the inside and it's talking to

you Hallelujah. And he's talking.

The question is, are we listening?

Right? So he's saying, listen, Jesus is

going to judge things and he's telling Timothy, now you need to

preach the word. Because what's going to happen

is there's going to come a time where those that are within the

church will not endure sound doctrine.

That doesn't mean they're not hearing sermons, but sound

doctrine. So they're going to be here in

doctrine. It just happens to be, as he

wrote in another letter, doctrines of demons, which means

they're going to have scripture associated with it.

But yet it's not really. And you say, man, this seems so

confusing. How would you ever know?

It's easy to know. It is not complicated because

God has given you the Spirit of truth, so you should never be in

fear that I could get confused. As long as you're yielded to

want to hear the Holy Spirit of which you can, He will only

guide you in paths of righteousness.

So I have great confidence that I do not get off and will not

get off as long as I, excuse me, remain in His word, to know His

word and hear His Spirit. Are you hearing me?

And then, you know, receive what takes place in verse 2.

So for those that you know choose not to anymore, then they

pick who they listen to. Now that's the difference

between First Corinthians 12/18. For the Lord places each member

in the body where it pleases him.

Well, the ones that don't want to be where God wants them,

they'll want to be where they want themselves.

So they start picking Are you hearing me?

So they can hear what they want to hear, whatever they want to

hear. They want to hear things

according to their own desires, not according to the Bible, but

according to their own desires. And you understand, according to

your own desire, you can make things up in the Bible to

support your desire, but the Holy Spirit's not going to

support that. Amen.

Let's look at so verse 2. And again, my wife is reading

the book by Rodney Howard Browne on the anointing and she read

this particular passage to me and and then he made a comment

concerning it and I'm. Like I've never seen it that

way. This is what I love about the

Bible, you know, men and women of God based upon how God has

gifted them, especially in the fivefold ministry.

They can there's ways that they are looking at Scripture because

God built them to see it that way.

And so, you know, although yes, could the Holy Ghost have shown

me that earlier? Absolutely, but it just never

came across my mind that way. And then but when he stayed, I'm

like, that is so true. Wow, that is so true.

I never saw it that way. OK.

And so it's really powerful. This perspective he saw

concerning verse 2. Preach the Word.

Be ready. In season, out of season,

reprove, rebuke, exhort with great patience and instruction,

for the time will come again that they will not endure sound

doctrine, but will want, wanting to have their ears tickled and

accumulate to themselves teachers in accordance to their

own desires. They amplified in verse two and

three says it this way. It says preach the word as an

official messenger, which then implies that people can preach

the word unofficially. Now that's true because we know

there's false prophets, false apostles, false teachers.

OK. Be ready when the time is right

and even when it is not. Keep your sense of urgency.

Whether the opportunity seems favorable or unfavorable,

whether convenient or inconvenient, whether welcome or

unwelcoming. Correct those who are in error

and doctrine or behavior. Warn those who sin.

Exhort and encourage those who are growing towards spiritual

maturity with inexhaustible patience and faithful teaching.

Verse 3. For the time will come when

people will not tolerate sound doctrine and accumulate an

accurate instruction that challenges them with God's

truth, but wanting to have their ears tickled with something

pleasing, they will accumulate for themselves.

Many teachers, one after another chose, chosen to satisfy their

own desires and the support of the errors they hold, they hold.

Now. I say all this because we need

to protect the brain. I found out yesterday that the

Word of the Year, according to the Oxford Press in 2024, the

Word of the Year. This is the word of the year for

2024. Are you ready?

Brain rot, Brain rot is the word of the year.

Now they this is something they do annually.

These are things that people, you know, what word is the most

used word, and this word, brain rot, is the word of the year for

2024. Let me give you the definition

of brain rot because it's not a new definition.

It's been out before. We'll talk about a little bit

here in a second, but brain rot that they're defining in 2024

means this. The supposed deterioration of a

person's mental or intellectual state, especially viewed as the

result of overconsumption of material, now particularly

online content considered to be trivial or unchallenging.

So it also means cognitive decline attributed to excessive

exposure to mindless social media content.

They Amen. Now, the ones who use this term

the most are the youngest generations who are viewing the

most. It is there.

They use it. This is their vernacular.

And this is coming off from, you know, social media platforms.

Obviously, anyone who's on Instagram, you're old.

If you're Facebook, you are ancient, OK?

TikTok is the deal with the younger ones.

And there's even some other stuff that I have to get around

our youth pastors now and figure out what that even is.

With that being said, they. And you do this.

Let's just be it. Let's admit, right.

You'll start watching the reels and then you flip how many have

gone through reels and found yourself an hour later?

Come on, Raise your hand up high.

Yeah, it's easy. You're going through hours gone.

Yeah. You could be sitting and reading

Scripture and 15 minutes, man, and you'd be like you slapping

yourself right now. I got to go get a cup of coffee.

Well, it's amazing how those visual stimuli because again,

let's just go with Pinterest where you're just looking at

pictures, man. You I mean there's so many

pictures and it's like, what's the what?

For me the most addictive is what's the next set because it

like never ends now. At least the YouTube.

Mine, I don't know about mine ends so you know when I flip on

you because I have a what are the little red things?

The notifications. I have a notification problem.

I do not like seeing the little red notification right Well,

it's like get it off. I don't know why my brains wire

it's like get it off. You know you got three

notifications on Instagram. What's this about?

So let's get rid of it. You know some of y'all have

texts that have like thousands of right?

It's like Nah man, just delete all right there, delete all.

So I'll get on to the YouTube because you know the my

subscriptions, you know, because I rang the bell to let me know

when something's coming in. And so I hit it, hit the other

one, and now I'm on it. So then I'm like, what else?

So I scroll all the way to the end and it ends.

And it's like, there's something about wanting to get to the end.

Yet when I read, it's a totally different discipline because

you're getting into a chapter and I'll look ahead like how

many more pages is this chapter? How many do that?

Yeah, like how many more pages? And if it's like beyond what you

think you can handle, you'll be like, I'll stop here at because

the paragraph starts on the next page.

I'll just consider it like a new starting point right now.

What's the difference between the two?

One is rotting my brain, the other is causing my brain to

think and be engaged and to be engaged.

You know, 'cause you have to ask yourself the question.

I do because I ask myself constantly questions concerning

Scripture, especially when it comes to the last thing.

I'm like, how can we have a church that Jesus is going to

come back for that's going to be mature and be like this

powerhouse that's never been ever never seen on the planet

before? Because the latter rain is going

to be greater than the former rain, yet people are going to

fall away. People are going to be wanting

to hear things that they want to hear and not truth anymore.

What what happens in society that would cause believers to

fall away, to not be interested, to lack and it brain rot, brain

rot. I mean, you understand we talk

about things to the attention span.

What in order to gain an intention span, you have to

train it. Now again, I I mentioned to

someone earlier, I don't remember who it was, but I was

saying unfortunately the fivefold Ministry of teaching

teachers have done a disservice to the body when they do not

follow up like Brother Hagin did when he would make statements

like this. Now there are 9 gifts of the

Spirit. We separate them for the sake of

teaching. So what happens?

The teacher who was lined upon line, precept upon precept will

take something like spirit, soul and body because the Scripture

shows and they say, what do we say here?

We are spirit, we have a soul and we live in a body.

Well, you understand the minute you teach and and then you start

to focus on your spirit man, because that's the real you.

Well, your body carries you, the real you and the body's pretty

important because if the pot body's not working, then your

spirits in trouble now it may not be in trouble of of of not

of going, you know, to the lake of fire.

I'm not saying that. I'm just saying staying within

the purpose and intent and, and on the earth as long as God

wanted you on the earth. Because again, in communion this

past Sunday, we saw that some sleep early because they didn't

judge themselves rightly, which means then their body got

diseased, took them out and the Lord's basically, you know,

Peter's at the pearly gate using a joke, you know, kind of

analogy, like what are you doing here?

You're early. So again, we separate.

But The thing is, is we have to understand they're still

together. So it's important for us to grow

not only our spirit, but our soul and our bodies.

Because it doesn't matter how saved or intelligent you are if

your body doesn't allow you to accomplish the purpose and plan

of God. Though we should.

Even though we separate things through teaching gifts, we

always need to maintain big picture and recognize that these

things are really important for us.

But the thing that I that Rodney Howard Browne had made the

statement that I thought was pretty powerful and here in

verse 2 going back to new American standard says preach

the word. OK.

And when he says preach the word, he's obviously meaning

based upon what he said in verse 3, sound doctrine, preach sound

doctrine. OK Preach the word, preach sound

doctrine. Be ready in season out, meaning

whether the ones you're preaching to want to hear you or

not. Preach the sound doctrine

period, because there's season everybody wants to hear and then

there's season nobody wants to hear.

In fact, in this room right now, there are probably some that

love are excited about me preaching right now and others

are like, you know, I would get up and leave and that's OK.

You understand we all have stuff going on in life and we don't

come. You know all.

Let's do it right. You have to put down your flesh.

That's all I'm saying. I mean, I put down my flesh

coming to church sometimes myself, and I'm preaching like,

do I call audible, you know, and I have a message.

But he's like, maybe I'll call Pastor Mike, say surprise, you

have it tonight. I'm not coming in, right.

Do you think I never think about not coming?

Sure. That thought comes.

I just have to be good at casting it down because of

responsibility. Call and all that.

OK. Then he goes on.

Here it is, reprove, rebuke, exhort.

Now those three are done by the next statement.

With great patience and instruction.

So reproving comes with instruction or teaching.

One translation says rebuke comes with teaching or

instruction, and exhortation comes with teaching or

instruction. And we do all three with great

patience. But notice of the three reprove,

rebuke and exhort, 2/3 are correcting.

Now let me do a little Brother Hagen for our brother Hagenites

out here. Brother Hagen would say in Mark

Mark 11:23

Chapter 11 verses 23, he would say about speaking to the

mountain. He said believe you receive when

you pray, you know, and then whatever you say is going to

come to pass. You're going to have whatever

you say. He said, notice that you believe

once, but you say 3 times more Now that hearing it like that,

we're all like, praise the Lord. So what do we do?

We I believe and we're confessing more.

We have no, you know what we're going to confess more.

We have to believe once, but our speaking is going to be we're

going to be in confessing because we confess more than we

believe. Once you believe, you know you

have it and then you're confessing.

So you're going to say three times more than you're going to

believe, right? We have no.

Problem with that. Well, guess what?

When you come to church, you're going to hear correction more

than you are exhortation. The Amen anyway.

I mean, again, this is the Scripture.

It says to reprove, it says to rebuke, and it says to exhort,

which means that when you're sitting in a service that's

preaching sound doctrine, maybe 2/3 of the time you're like,

man, I might have to. I might have to make an

adjustment there, which means that's positive.

That is not negative. Seem like every time I go out,

there's something else I've got to adjust.

Hallelujah. You're being perfected.

Amen. Yeah.

Make it hurt, drill Sergeant. Make it hurt.

That's what they used to tell us.

Now again, the intent is not we're not talking about being

abusive or or we're just saying that when the preaching of the

word comes, if all we did was exhort.

Now pastor, Pastor Darrell told me this obviously because he he

helps me grow as a leader. He said that the Lord spoke to

him one time concerning his church that it wasn't growing at

the level that he was expecting is like, Lord, how come?

And he says, well, and he took him to this passage of Scripture

and he says, he says you're not doing this Scripture.

He said, what do you mean? He said, all you do is exhort,

but you don't do the reprove and rebuke and you're not going to

grow without those. Now again, when correction

comes, it is not there for the purpose of saying you're wrong.

When correction or reprove or rebuke comes, it's there to say

this is what God says, change your thinking.

So you're here to protect the brain.

The reprove and the rebuke is there to help protect your

brain. Revelations 319, which again, if

you want to take your own time to go through the seven churches

of Revelation, five of them have this term in it.

Repent, repent, OK, in this particular church, look what the

Lord Jesus says, he says those whom I I want.

So if I love someone, I'm not just going to encourage them,

only I'm not going to just minister in such a way or even

just in conversation when we're just talking.

If something that is said or done doesn't line up with this

Kingdom or scripture or behavior somewhere doesn't line up with

who we are now in Christ, well, I won't just always be an

encourager. Sometimes you're like, we don't

do that. You know, I wouldn't say that

you know what the Bible says. Now again, that's not being

condescending mean or anything. It's to pull us up to life,

right? But again, because we come out

of sin where we held on to guilt, shame and all that and we

knew we were wrong. But even God, God called you not

because he was there to pull. In fact, if we, if we're being

biblical, the you're born again because of his kindness, because

of his kindness, however, he is letting you know that to be in

the Kingdom, you're going to have to repent.

You're going to have to repent. So those whom I love, what does

he do? I reprove and discipline.

Therefore be zealous. And now that's something we

should want say Amen. We should want to be zealous.

So our attitude anytime we're in scripture or we're hearing the

word that we have a zeal that Lord, if there's anything that

I'm reading and when I'm spending time with you that you

need me to change, I'm going to I have a zeal to do it.

I want to do it because again, that's was one of the qualities

of David is he was quick to repent when he was confronted,

when he was rebuked or reproved, he would be quick to change his

thinking and get things right with the Lord because of his

fear of the Lord because he wanted to be in right standing

with God. Well, how much more us in this

new covenant that we're in, Amen.

And there's no one in this room that does.

Not all of us are reproved and rebuked and.

Exhorted. All of us, Hallelujah, Amen.

But he says the ones I love, I reprove, I discipline.

Therefore be zealous and repent. So repent's a really important

thing. Jesus went on to talk about

changing your thinking because this protects your brain, OK?

It'll protect your brain because it's in the sole realm that you

are making choices. It's in the sole realm that

you're deciding whether you're going to side with the flesh or

side with the spirit. Because both are talking.

I said both are talking. Hallelujah.

Jesus said in Matthew 417, you know it.

From that time Jesus began to preach, say and say repent, for

the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.

So that means change your thinking, right?

In fact, let me just go ahead and read that definition of, of,

of from the Thayers. It means to change one's mind

for the better. You know, I was, you know, I

because of social media and it's already being communicated

concerning the younger generation is that they have

lost their ability to critically think.

They have no critical thing. This is why Washington was so

important for us, because we needed to develop people with

critical thinking to be able to think.

Because when you build a society that doesn't think, then they

are easily manipulated to follow.

And when I say follow, I'm talking about following evil

because you are to be a follower of the Holy Ghost and following

him as life. So we're following either way,

but to follow God's way, your mind becomes something amazing.

If you follow the devil's path, you know, you could, you'll be

on autopilot. So what happens is, is we have

set in now society that that the millennials, you know, are

probably attributed to this some because, you know, they were

diagnosed with ADHD and then they were given drugs associated

with that particular situation, right?

So then you get on into the next generation and it's just as a

progression of brain rot, right? Because again, we are overly

stimulated, right? This is why, you know, you've

heard me say in the past when we this used to be a theater used

to sitting here for two or three hours and watch a movie.

So really it's no big deal for us to preach for a little while.

Well, it only is a big. Deal because it requires you to

exercise your brain. You have to discipline yourself.

Now again, can you go find places that it is will do

nothing to challenge your thinking?

Yes, absolutely. Myself, as a pastor, I have to

make a decision. Do I want a congregation fool of

brain wrought people that have no critical thinking?

They can't think critically, they only side with the flesh

immediately, period. And, and, and, and you have to

entertain and you have to be short because you can't keep

their attention. Or do you say, no, I, I'm going

to choose to trust the Holy Ghost in people and go after

them. The ones that want to have zeal

and have their brains stimulated because based upon the

assignment that he says here is that we are to do endure

doctrine. We are to minister, I mean sound

doctrine. We are to preach the word.

We are to reprove, rebuke and exhort with great patience.

Thank God for the fruit of the Spirit, for the fruit of the

Spirit with great patience, right?

Because again, you know, long-suffering is another fruit

of the Spirit. You know, a lot of times as

parents, you know you're long-suffering with your

children. You're very patient with your

children, right? And you're like wish that they

would be patient with you that way.

Like you keep giving them opportunities, you correct them,

you ground them, you take their phone and then you give it back

and then you're doing all right. But then a minute you do

something. They have no patience for you.

You're like, why am I not reciprocating what I extend you?

Amen. Well, the same thing happens in

the church because again, we get around the brethren and you

know, you get in relationships and there's a lot of patience,

long-suffering, you know, for people to grow up.

But then, you know, all of a sudden someone does something

that you're like, I can't believe that.

And we have no patience for it. But we all have the fruit,

correct? So it's to change one's mind for

the better. OK, Joseph Benson commentary

said it this way. For repentance not only implies

sorrow of sin or since sincerely wishing it undone, but a change

of mind and a reformation of life, the Reformation of life.

So again, if we're going to protect our brains, since the

word of the year is brain wrought, well, we don't want to

be that part of that culture. You know, we want to be people

who can like Paul said, Paul was never intimidated with a

studier, never. In fact, he he acknowledged

them. He said now the Bereans, they're

a different group because they searched the scripture to see if

it's So what I say period. Amen.

See, when you have a heart to know, then you'll study and

you'll ask questions so that you can continue to grow in the

knowledge of this. And you'll ask questions because

again, when we were outside the Kingdom, we were jacked up and

our thinking was never in line with God.

Why? And the Bible is very clear that

we're born again. Our spirit man has been made

righteous. It is, it cannot be any more

righteous than it is when you get born again.

Now it can be developed, but it cannot be any more righteous.

It you are in Christ, your spirit man is alive.

In fact, the spirit, your spirit man does not want to sin at all.

But then we have to, excuse me, save our soul.

Now there's a saving of the soul.

And again we get so focused on the spirit.

Well, you can. You cannot even follow the

spirit if you do not have soul renewal effectively.

Now you can, you know, so haphazardly per SE, you know,

get it right here, maybe miss it here.

But if you want to be able to get where you're always being

able to make sure you're hearing it right, well, that's where

you're going to have to get into mine renewal.

And the Bible's very clear about us renewing our minds.

But to renew our minds, then we have to then challenge

everything we think. So you I would say it this way

and again I'm not. Please take let.

Me smile when I say it. Do you you want to know your

father? Paul said.

I want to know him. That doesn't mean I want to see

him when I die. That's not what he was talking

about. He's like, I want to know him.

I want to know his. I want to know everything about

him. I want to know his word.

I want to know his ways. I want to know how he would

handle the situation. I want to know him.

I want to be intimately acquainted with him because I am

representing him down here. And how can I represent him if

I'm not around him and asking questions and then allowing him

to say I don't think like you're thinking right now.

I would never handle that situation the way you're doing

it right now. You need to not do what you're

doing right now because that is not what I do and we have to say

yes, Lord, thank you for letting me know and I will change my

mind. I help continue.

Help me think like you think right?

Because if all you resolve yourself as a St. or a believer

is, I don't care. I asked Jesus into my heart to

save me and when I die, I'm going to go to heaven.

And if that's all you care about, well, you'll have a

spiritually brain rotten or a brain rot and be spiritually

alive. And that's not what God intended

for us. We know this because he called

the body number one to be equipped and to mature and to

grow. Well, that takes effort.

Hallelujah, you know, and, and you know, I hate it that places

have raised up and been in in places that have have kept it at

a particular level and and never pushed it.

I mean, again, these these, these types of teachers will

exist and then the only way you'll know what they are is

when you're trained in righteousness to be able to

discern discernment is not automatic just because you're

born again. So we want to protect our brain

by subjecting ourselves to the word of God and saying and here

even all the more as the day draws near because deception is

going to be greater in the end. Now what I'm saying is not like,

I mean, I understand you've heard mine renewal.

But what I'm saying today is very profound for what we're in,

because there will come another time of deception during the

tribulation that the Lord himself says if I had not

shortened it, it if possible, not saying that it would, but if

there's a possibility that that even the elect would be

deceived. So when I hear that, I'm like,

Lord, I need to protect the brain and I need to protect the

brain. And here's the thing, You've

equipped me with everything I need to be able to do that.

You've made my spirit alive unto you.

It's righteous and it hears from God and can hear from God.

My spirit is alive now. It's not dead.

It's not separated from God. It can literally hear.

I am on the same frequency, OK, in my spirit and then the Holy

Spirit is inside me speaking to my spirit and he is doing the

things that Jesus said he would do.

He's causing things to come to my remembrance.

Thank God He causes things to come to my remembrance.

I don't always hear him right and I don't I, I miss his voice

and I miss his voice sometimes just in the day-to-day stuff.

The other day I missed his voice.

I'll be honest with you, I I was, it was Sunday, actually.

I came into the living room. I had taken the chair off the

couch because I have a dog that's a diva and she knows that

the couch is not hers. She knows he needs to get.

Saved. I mean really, he needs to get

saved. But I said it right at the end

of the chase. Normally I put it out by the

fire, my my little fireplace, which is electric fireplace.

And I said it out there. But I said it and you know, it

came in my mind. I should put the chair on it

just because I've been there. But I was like.

Marcy, you get it. Well, my wife ended up you want

something else and because it was in another place left.

We come home hours later. He's not on the couch, but

there's evidence. And she knows.

And and she knows. You know when you know.

Oh, she knows. You're like, did you get on my

couch? Like and.

You know, yeah, you got on my couch.

I cannot. But, I mean, she's gotten

sneaky. Just the other day.

I mean, she got on with the chairs.

I mean, you got to be strategic with this stuff, all right?

The day's coming when there'll be no more chairs on my couch.

And you'll know why not because I help the process.

It's just a process that's going to happen one day, you know?

Unless the Lord. Which that's the whole other

subject. I'm not even going to get into

that. I don't want to get into that

because some of y'all might cry. Anyway, with that being said,

you know, looking back, I'm like, you know, that's probably

the Holy Ghost telling me to put that up there.

You know, he didn't say, you know, Matthew chapter 6 Earl put

Matthew 6 · chapter mention

Dallas the chair on the couch. If I didn't read that.

But it was it really, it was his voice.

And I'm like, that's my problem, you know?

So now I'm going to have to, you know, take care of the couch

with more joy because it's my fault.

They say, Amen. OK, so Jesus says to repent.

That means to change your thinking.

And again, this change of thinking does turn into a

lifestyle. That's why Matthew 3/8, which

again is John the Baptist prior to Jesus being baptized in the

water and coming out, he says to religious people, he said

therefore bear fruit in keeping with repentance.

So a change of mind will change you.

Now, there are plenty of teachings out there because

again, we've separated, especially in the world, because

the world. Can only deal with the body and

the soul. Even though they have a spirit,

their spirits cut off from God and it's dead.

OK, so it's soul will only run. Towards, you know, death

ultimately, because there's a way that seems right to a man,

but in the end lies death. OK.

But they want to do everything they can to train their mind.

And you know, the mind is very powerful, so much so that if you

get your mind locked in, even being lost, you can do some

pretty amazing things that even God will.

Say, that's pretty amazing. How do we know this truth?

The Tower of Babel, none of those people are born again.

They're pagans, no covenant with God, and they're going to build

them a tower. OK, and the Lord comes down,

sees what they're doing. He says they are in one mind 1

accord. What they have set out to do,

they will accomplish. The problem is that plan goes

against my plan. So he stopped it by changing

their language. OK, so there's the minds

powerful. That's why you can watch all

kinds of video on positive thinking.

You can watch all kinds of because the mind in love itself

is extremely powerful. However, any mind that doesn't

have God alive, the Bible talks about they have dark sayings.

So it's still not where it can be when it's disconnected from

the life of God, but we have the life of God.

Why do why is it that believers, you know, again, just generally

speaking, because we all know people that become extremely

satisfied with destination theology, meaning I know where

I'm going to go when I die and they have no desire to study.

And again, the Bible never said make a convert so that they'll

know where they're going to go when they die.

It never says that. It says go make disciples.

That means be a student of the word and list as a pupil.

Now, again, what is our society taught us?

We go and we're in preschool and they go to kindergarten and then

we get out with, you know, elementary, middle school,

graduate from high school potentially.

We go on to college or whatever. And at the end of the day, you

know, we finish our education and we're really not growing

anymore. But even today's education, we

don't even really have to learn because with AI today, I mean,

they're having to have to get creative because you don't even

need to write your own papers. You can plug all the information

in and it's doing, I mean, in the workplace, this is happening

all the time now. The people don't have to think

how to write something up for a job or article.

They're using AI, so it's doing the work.

Well, what's happening to your mind?

So our whole society is being built so that we don't have to

think. And the devil loves this.

And, you know, all the while he's convincing that we are a

more intelligent society because of all this technology.

Isn't that amazing? But we need to repent.

But he said Matthew again, 3/8 says, oh Hallelujah, I got this

end. Thank you.

Jesus. Therefore bear fruit in keeping

with repentance. I'm going to go through a few

translations. The new living translation says

this prove by the way you live that you have repented of your

sins and turn to God. OK, the contemporary English

version says do something to show that you have really given

up your sins. So again, it's not just a

confession and then you we live like we want to.

It's a constant renewal in our mind, OK, the God's Word says,

do those things that prove you have turned to God and have

changed the way you think and act amplifies that.

So produce fruit that is consistent with repentance,

demonstrating new behavior that proves a change of heart and a

conscious decision to turn away from sin.

Now, let me just say it this way.

You have to constantly work your mind because the Bible tells us

in Galatians chapter 5 that our spirit and our flesh battle

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

daily and we're never free from this conflict.

One translation says, have you? I'm not asking you to do this,

but have you noticed that when you've gotten away from the Word

because you've gotten busy in life and all of us have done

this, you haven't spent as much time in prayer.

You've gotten out of reading the Word.

You're not even really listening to anything.

You're just kind of going through that.

All of a sudden your flesh shows up.

What? You used to have extreme

patience, or you could forgive that in a moment's notice and

you would never say something about someone.

Then all of a sudden you're. Doing it, and I don't care if

you've been in church 30 years, 40 years, 50 years, doesn't

matter because if you do not keep your mind in the word, it

will shift over to behaving like you're not even born again.

And you know, so there is no time on this when we're on the

planet that we could ever coast. See, this is one of the negative

things of classes in general, because the minute you finish a

class, well, you usually say, well, we took that like anchor

faith live classes. Well, I, I, we had, they had a

faith class. I took that one.

Well, you don't think there's more about faith?

I mean, Kingdom Institute students, they graduate.

What did we learn? What was the purpose?

I mean, I do this with the Rhema graduates.

I'm like, you go through all that time and because at Rhema

you got to go there. I mean, there is no online at

Rhema. You get up, you go, unless you

live in the community, you're going there and you're in faith

for a home, a job, all kinds of stuff.

Then you go through school, you go through their rigors, you

learn all this stuff. You having to, you know, crucify

your flesh constantly, and then you come out for what?

To never use it or to go back into the world, that is mind

blowing to me. But it's only because they're

not staying in principles and then saying, obviously, Raymond,

no school could teach you everything anyway.

Only schools can teach you to have a zeal to want to know

more, so hearing what I already know helps keep me strong.

If I eat spinach today, it does something for me naturally.

Does that mean I should never eat spinach again?

Means the next time I eat spinach, it does nothing for me?

Every time I eat spinach, it does something for me every

time. So even if I preach from Matthew

633, every service you're getting fed something.

It's doing something if you're allowing yourself to have a mind

change. Right, so Romans 12/2 amplified

says it this way. Do not be conformed to this

world any longer with its superficial values and customs,

and be transformed and progressively changed as you

mature spiritually by the renewing of your mind, focusing

on godly values and ethical attitudes, so that you may prove

for yourself what the will of God is, that which is good and

acceptable and perfect in His plan and purpose for you.

Man, that is such a good. Believe that up there isn't

that. Powerful.

So first of all says do not be conformed.

Now this is powerful because what he is saying in this, in

this passage is that from your spirit man perspective, you're

already out of the world. You're not of this world.

From the spirit man perspective, your spirit doesn't think this

way. Your spirit doesn't want to

engage in this. Your spirit's been recreated in

the likeness of Christ. Christ is light and in him is no

darkness. And your spirit should be light

because if you're born again, it is light and in there is no

darkness in your spirit man. There's no desire for the flesh.

There's no desire to lust. There's no desire to to break

off from the commandments of God or the behaviors of God.

And then you're the Holy Spirit is speaking to your spirit.

He's saying do not be conformed. Conform means you mean go back

or to conform to something in the Spirit.

You're already a child of the king.

You've been redeemed. You've been set free.

You're the most powerful thing on the planet because you will

have the life of God in you. So don't let your mind stay

where it's at. Don't do it.

And again, in the world, it's not easy, Not easy.

I'll give it a quick testimony, Brother Hagin, and then we'll

hit a couple more verses and we'll be gone.

Turn over to Acts 17 while I'm saying it.

Brother Hagin said this to his wife one time back, you know,

when basically the depression hit and they were still

ministering, didn't have nothing, went to a minister's

house who quit ministering and decided to start working in the

city and was making plenty of money based upon what was going

on in that time frame. And the wife had all kind of

dresses, you know, in her closet and, you know, he had suits and

they have, you know, plenty at the table.

All that they they couldn't even afford to stay at a hotel.

Brother Hagin and his wife Aretha, when they came to this

particular conference. And because he had had had a

relationship with this guy and came across him while he was

there, he said, hey, have you gotten a place?

Why don't you stay with us? Which was really God providing

for them because they were trusting God.

So again, you don't have to own anything.

You just have to have access. At the end of the day, he ended

up getting in his house and he says his wife sat on the end of

bed and she was feeling sad. And he knew he's looking at all

this stuff and here we are living for the Lord and we have

nothing. And they used to pastor, but

they quit. Now they've got the world's

goods. And he said, he sat on the bed

by his wife and he says, honey, I know, he said, but stick with

me. It won't always be like this.

God is faithful and man, God ended up prospering him.

I mean that man when he would walk out on the platform, he

didn't show off, show this off. But when he walked down on the

platform, he, he could have $10,000 in clothing on most of

what people gave him, but they were faithful with the Lord.

I say they were faithful with the Lord.

Amen. I mean, I myself, I'm like man,

just following God has put me in a great place.

I've been able to travel the world.

I mean, in my mind, I could have just done, you know, something

in the world. I mean, I was actually, you

know, going to go into computer programming in Atlanta.

I mean I was set up. For that world's success.

But God and he had to make a choice.

And during the process of following God, there had been

many of times I'm like, I'm done many a times because again,

you're looking around everybody else, you're like, man, I'm

giving my life for you. And but you know what, stay,

just stay, just stay. Just stay with it.

And you stay with it. You know what God end up taking.

And again, I'm not, we're not trying to be like it.

We just want to be the best us. But I'm not lacking one bit.

God is so faithful. He's so good because following

him is the best thing ever. But I had to renew my mind every

day I have to turn stuff off and make sure I keep God on and it's

worth it. I wouldn't want to lose the

wisdom and insight I have today and throw it away and the peace

that I walk in. Now, don't get me wrong.

I mean, Paul told him to endure hardship.

And as a minister, you know, we you endure hardship, we endure

hardship. But he's talking to Timothy

about enduring hardship, not because of personal trials, but

because he's overseeing a flock that is not wanting to grow in

their thinking. And so he's saying, you keep

preaching to them. You're just going to have to

endure the heart. That's why I said when you're

reproving, you're exhorting and you're rebuking.

Do it with patience. The Bible talks about when

you're walking in patients, you'll you'll develop endurance

and he's telling you're just going to have to endure the

hardship. Just keep correcting.

Now for me, I was a great test taker personally and honestly, I

only want to take a test once and I applied that spiritually.

I do not want to take a spiritual test twice.

So, you know, I pull out everything that will crucify my

flesh. I'll pull it out.

I mean, I will pull it out because the last thing I want to

do is handle this situation wrong and have to do a retest.

Don't want to do it. And you?

Crucify it. How do you want me to handle

this? I don't.

I have, I have. I don't care one bit of what it

makes me look like, what people say.

I'm going to do it your way because I'm going to pass it.

I want to pass the test first time.

Hallelujah. All right, Acts 17.

We need to get out of here. Acts 1730 says.

Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now

declaring to men that demand that all people everywhere

should repent. God's word says it this way.

God overlooked the times when people didn't know any better,

but now command everyone everywhere to turn to him and

change the way they think and act.

You know, there was a time that we were in prior to Jesus that,

you know, there was a lot of ignorance going on and they

didn't even couldn't even be born again, couldn't have a

spirit alive unto God. I mean, there was a lot going,

but he's like, now's the time. No excuse.

I've paid the price. Everything's been settled.

All accounts are settled. There's no excuse.

Doesn't matter where you're at. I've paid it.

No matter what you've done, no matter what situation you're in,

you're not so far that I have not already paid that price.

All you have to do is receive me.

All you have to do. And whether you received him for

the first time to be born again or you're repenting of a wrong

you're doing as a child of God and saying I will sin, I didn't

do it your way. Lord forgive me.

He will be faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you from

all unright. And then speak to your mind and

say to this, how are we going to handle it from here on out?

Amen. Ezekiel 1832 says it this way.

He says, for I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies,

declares the Lord. Therefore repent and live.

Now again, when we read this, initially you're thinking, OK,

he doesn't want anyone to die. You know, like physically, but

you understand, my people perish.

So death is not just a physical death.

There can be death, and we are dying in situations only because

we're not repenting. But this, it's not my job to

convince you. It's my job to communicate what

I hear by the spirit. You're going to do what you want

to do because I'm going to do what I want to do.

And what I want to do is follow the Lord.

That's what I want to do. You know, that should be what we

all want to do, because when we do that, we live.

And I've never been denied. Never.

You know, you've heard this statement before, and I'm a

close with this. The worshipping come, you know,

they say you know something doesn't happen.

This. It's not a denial.

It may be a delay. I don't even think the only way

you're in a delay is if you are wrong and you didn't repent.

Because the only reason why the Israelites were in the

wilderness delayed is because the hardness of their heart, the

hard heart will delay somebody, OK?

However, if it's not like I think it should be, because I

sure thought I'd buy them all quicker than five years, but it

didn't. But did it come to pass?

I don't consider that delay. I just consider it perfect

timing. Perfect timing, because who

would have thought that we would have?

And again, I'm not totally into numbers, but it's pretty amazing

that we purchased it on the 21st day of the 21st year of

December. That was pretty amazing to me.

I mean, that's only ones and twos.

And we're at mall 2121 that we're 2121 US One South.

It's pretty amazing. Hallelujah.

And we had been in the location for 12 years.

Isn't that crazy Now? It's not.

But you know what? I feel like God's just that

detailed because I never waver. We would have it.

It just didn't happen like I thought.

Maybe that's OK, as long as I stay with him, think like him.

Then we're going to live. Amen.