Renew Your Mind Part2

If you weren't here last week, pick up the first CD, because it will take too long to go over it.

So pick up the first CD if you weren't here last week, listen to it, because this is a continuation.

So last week we were saying that to behave the way people in the Kingdom of God behave,

you have to come to a place where you shed your former manner of living before you met Christ,

and you take on a new self or way of living if you want to be someone who behaves like Kingdom people should behave.

So we looked at Ephesians 422. Ephesians 422 says this,

Guys, put off your old self or old man. Put off your old self or old man. Why?

Because that old self or old man was your former manner of life.

You knew what I was asking for. Put off your old self or old man. Why?

Because it's your former manner of life and it was put to death on the cross.

Please pick up the last CD if you want to get the hang of this, otherwise part two won't do you as much justice.

So that's in Romans 6, 6. That's in Ephesians 422, I think, or 23.

22. 22 to 24. So this is what we looked at last time.

Put off the old self because that was your former manner of living before you met Christ.

And by the way, Jesus Christ died on the cross and he put to death that old self.

So don't pick it up. It's like walking around with a cadaver. Don't do it. Put off your old self.

You pick that up and walk with that Jacob and it'll keep getting corrupted. It'll keep decaying.

You'll stink because you're carrying a dead corpse on your back. It's an old way of living. Put it off.

And then it says in verse 24 or so, it says, put on the new self. Put on the new self. Put on the new self.

And then it goes on to say about the new self that the new self, put on the new self.

And it says the new self is created in the likeness of God.

And it says in true righteousness and holiness, put on this new self.

And then it says, just so you know what this new self is, in Romans 13, 14, it says, this new self is Christ Jesus.

As in, hey, when you received Jesus Christ into your life, understand that your old self was crucified to the cross

and that you now have a new self. As in, Jesus Christ has come into your life.

Begin to wear him. Put on the new self. Created in the likeness of God.

That's what it says. That's what we were talking about.

How do you do this? How do you move from old to new?

And God gives an answer for that too. And that's what we'll be looking at today.

How do you move from old to new? It says, renew the spirit of your mind.

That's how you do it. Renew the spirit of your mind.

That's how you do this. Any questions on this before we go on?

Renew the spirit of your mind.

So that's what we'll be looking at today. How do you renew the spirit of your mind?

By the way, when we talk about mind, we are not talking about the brain.

By mind we mean mindset. By mind we mean our reasoning.

By mind we mean our desires. By mind we mean the way we think.

The mind we mean our feelings. That's what we mean by mind.

And God is saying, renew the spirit of the way you think, the way you desire, the way you feel, your mindset.

Renew the spirit of your mindset. And if you do that, you'll be able to make the shift from the old which has been killed to the new which you have.

Any questions on this before we go on?

We will not grasp all of it today, but if you have questions you must ask and then you can go and listen to it again and again and again.

Okay. Guys, the starting point for the renewing of the mind is grasping the truth of 1 Corinthians 2.16.

The starting point for the renewing of the mind is grasping the truth of 1 Corinthians 2.16.

The starting point for the renewing of the mind is grasping the truth of 1 Corinthians 2.16.

And here's what 1 Corinthians 2.16 says. 1 Corinthians 2.16 says, you have the mind of Christ.

It's not saying you will one day. It's not saying when you get to heaven you will.

It is saying you presently possess, you have the mind of Christ. You presently have it.

Anybody who has received Jesus Christ into their lives has the mind of Christ.

And what do we mean by that? What did we say the mind was? We're not saying you got the brains of God.

You wouldn't be able to handle it in this body like putting a Ferrari in a Kia.

But nothing wrong with Kia. Kia is a fine car. I used to own one.

When we would go up Northwind, I think the car wasn't moving because the other cars would be going really fast past me.

And I almost stepped out of the car one day. Then I realized, no, my car was moving.

But this was in the days when Kia wasn't what it is. But Kia is a fine car now.

Having made this disclaimer, let me move on.

You have the mind of Christ. It's your present possession. You have the mind of Christ.

You have the mind of Christ. Present possession. It's not something we are.

Thinking will happen to us later. You have the mind of Christ. This is the starting point.

This is the starting point. If you don't have this, you don't have anything else.

See, when we teach Christ life, we have a tendency when we teach Christ life at Acts 29 to say,

your body is neutral, your spirit is new. All the work is in the renewing of the mind.

While part of it is true, part of it is not. We are not renewing a mind we don't have.

We already have it. Now it's a question of using it.

We already have it. It's now the question of using it.

There is nobody here who has received Jesus Christ who does not actually have the very mind of Christ.

Which is why Jesus has the audacity to say to us in Philippians 2, Paul is talking about Jesus,

and he says, have this mind that was also in Christ.

How can you even say that if you don't already have it? How can I say to Jillian,

have the mind of an athlete if she's not an athlete?

You have to have something before God can say, now that you have it, think like it.

This is the starting point. Unfortunately, most of us don't really believe that we have the mind of Christ.

That we have the desires, that we have the longings, that we have the thinking patterns,

that we have the ways of thought, that we have the mindset of Jesus Christ. We really don't believe it.

I was talking about this at two of the households, that when God made man,

he was literally, the outward body was not what resembled him.

When God said, I have made man in my image and likeness, he wasn't talking about the outward body,

he was talking about the inward shaping, where he put his nature in man.

And it was literally like a painter or a sculptor sitting and painting his self-portrait.

That's what he says in Genesis 1.27, I have made Jacob in my own image and likeness.

And what was he saying? I mean, I mentioned this at Heidi's group yesterday,

Rachel and Matt are going to have a baby. This baby will arrive on the earth in 2017.

But this baby was created somewhere at the beginning of the world on the seventh day.

This baby wasn't created the day before yesterday or when they slept together.

This baby was created at the beginning of time, waiting for a day when it would be introduced to the earth.

When this baby was created, God was making a self-portrait of himself.

With great love, he shaped this baby, putting his nature, his ways,

like a sculptor looking at the mirror and shaping this baby.

Sure, sin came in and this baby will need to get born again.

But there is not a person on the face of the earth who is not a self-portrait of the living God.

Not a person on the face of the earth who is not a self-portrait of the living God.

The only thing that happened is the self-portrait got distorted.

When you received Jesus Christ into your life, that self-portrait was restored.

That nature of Christ was restored.

The way Christ thinks was restored.

Why did God trust Adam?

Because God knew that Adam had the same likes, the same ways of thinking as he does.

Which is why he gave him dominion over the earth.

Because he knew that if I have made Adam the way I have made him,

I can't trust him to take care of everything that I have made.

When we got born again, that is what happened.

Our spirits were made perfect, but we were given a life of self-portrait.

When we got born again, that is what happened.

Our spirits were made perfect, but we were given the mind of Christ

so that he can now trust us once again to have his nature.

But our problem is that when God wants to see his image, he looks at me.

When I want to see my image, I look in the mirror and I only see myself with warts and pimples, flaws and defects.

And the real me is not that.

We talked about this last time.

The real Jacob is made in the likeness of God himself.

The real Jacob is made in the likeness of God himself.

Created in the likeness of God, in true righteousness and holiness.

That alone is the real Jacob.

That is the Jacob that God relates to brilliantly.

But circumstances, pastors, churches, movies, the world will keep telling you how flawed you are.

And yes, you have flaws.

But that is not the real you.

I am not condoning for a second the things I do wrong.

But I want to have a grasp of who I really am if I am to move forward.

One of the statements I made at the household yesterday was,

there are no mirrors in heaven because God, whenever he wants to see his image, just looks at me.

It's not true.

Don't think there are no mirrors in heaven.

Perhaps there are. Perhaps there are not.

That's not the point.

The point was that there are no mirrors in heaven

because when God wants to take a selfie or he wants to look at what he looks like,

he looks at any person who's born again and he sees in them his likeness and image in true righteousness and holiness.

It's almost sacrilegious to say things like this.

Because you think you're putting yourself on par with God?

No. God put myself on par with him.

Not in power.

Not in omniscience, omnipresence, omni what?

There's one more omni.

Omnipresence? No. Not in this.

But in his nature? Absolutely.

That is the starting point.

We talked about this last time.

If I don't think like this, I think it's natural for me to lie.

It is abnormal for me to lie.

If I don't think like this, I think it's natural for me to lie.

If I don't think like this, I think it's natural for me to lust, to look at things on TV, look at women on the streets.

It's not natural. It's abnormal for me. It's not natural.

If I don't think like this, I think it will be natural to break a law here.

Break an immigration law, break a tax law, break a road law.

Break a law. Don't stop for three seconds at a stop sign.

Whatever. You'll think it's natural for you to do so because the world says it's completely okay.

Haven't you heard the statement?

After all, we are all sinners. Really?

That's our best line?

After all, we are, I'm only human. I'm just a man.

True.

But like I said last week, it is true that I sin.

It is still truer that I am not bound to the nature of sin.

Sin.

This is the starting point. That's why I'm stopping at it for so long.

Hebrews 10 verse 16 actually says that I will write my laws on your heart.

Hebrews 10:16

I will write my ways on your mind.

God literally is saying, hey, when you got born again, I gave you a certain new mind and a way of thinking, Jacob,

that it's natural for you to behave like me.

I mean, since this teaching has started, at least in my life,

I've enjoyed practicing it, enjoyed not behaving a certain way that is so reflexive for me,

where as soon as something happens, there's a reaction.

I don't need to react that way anymore. I don't have to. It's brilliant.

It's not normal for me to do things that are wrong. It's abnormal for me.

It's abnormal for me.

Abnormal. When I do something wrong, I scratch my head saying,

that's not normal for you, Jacob. Why are you behaving like that?

You have a brand new spirit. You have the Holy Spirit living in you.

You have the mind of Christ, the ways of thinking that are Christ-like.

Guys, don't go off to sleep. Some of you are beginning to feel tired.

Don't go off to sleep. You have what it takes to stay awake.

Or else you'll have to listen to the CD twice, which means two hours of listening

when you could actually listen here and then listen to it only once.

I hope that sold you.

So, renovate your thinking pathways. Renovate your thinking pathways.

It's like renovating a house. You call Wayne and Elmer and they'll renovate your house.

They can pick more than most young people carry.

They can carry Derek in one armpit and Don in the other armpit and still renovate a house.

And even two.

And so, to renovate pathways is to...

That's the idea of renewing.

Stopping the way I used to function and completely renovating my thinking pathways.

Renovating the principles I live by. Renovating my default mindsets.

How do we do it? The first scripture that we look at to do it is Romans 12.12, which all of us know.

Romans 12.2, sorry. Romans 12.2. And it says, do not be conformed.

Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

Look at it this way. Jeevan, you want to just come up for a second?

So, this is how it works, guys.

So, born again believer who has gotten used to having an old self.

And Jesus is saying, listen, I've already given you the mind of Christ.

I've already given you a new self.

So, why don't you take off your old self and stop wearing it?

And so, he decides, okay, he's going to take off his old self.

When he takes off his old self, he's got a new self, and very clearly says, no more excuses.

Now, what do you do?

What he can do is, every time pressures come on him, he picks up his old self and begins to think like this.

When there's no money, he picks up his old self.

When there are sicknesses, he picks up his old self.

When there is pressure, he picks up his old self.

When speaking the truth will cost him, he picks up his old self.

When someone does better than him, he picks up his old self.

When someone gets an accolade that they don't deserve, he picks up his old self.

When all along, God is saying, put off.

See, he's already zipping it up.

Put off the old self.

And put on the new self, and the new self, guys, I know this is funny, but this is what...

Tell you what, I'm going to make everybody this t-shirt in this church.

No more excuses.

No more excuses.

And so, everything that you and I... just stay for a little while.

Everything that you and I are struggling with is because we go back to an old way of thinking.

We go back to an old way of thinking.

And we have worn this for so long that we think it's natural.

I was using this example of a man.

Let's assume that Jeevan had a withered...

No, let's not pick on Jeevan.

A man has a withered... you can sit.

You can sit.

Very good, I was testing you.

But just in case you get cold.

Yeah.

Guys, it's like a man who had a withered hand.

Born with a withered hand.

For 40 years, he's had a withered hand.

And so, he's gotten so used to using his right hand to write, to pick up stuff, to reach for the mic.

He's used his right hand.

It's his strong hand.

Then one day, along comes this brilliant doctor who says,

I've discovered the ultimate bionic arm that looks completely human.

And I want to do that for you.

And so, he takes this guy with a withered arm and attaches a bionic arm that looks completely human,

is super strong and can do anything that a human arm does plus more.

And so, this guy comes back with a bionic arm.

But guess what?

He's got this bionic arm.

But he's so used to his right hand that even though this arm is fully functioning,

he still reaches across like this.

He still does this.

He still does this.

Why?

Because even though he has a bionic arm, he won't use it.

Because we've gotten so accustomed to thinking the old way.

It's normal for us.

Normal for us.

And it's terrible, man, that this is our condition.

Yeah, for a few days you have to tie the good arm down.

And then this arm will begin to work.

Do not be conformed to the world.

The world will continuously tell you,

hey, this is what your mind needs.

This is how you should think.

This is what pundits say.

This is what CNN says.

This is what your doctor says.

This is what your pastor says.

This is what the church says.

Really, aren't they far more credible than a Bible that was written in Greek and Hebrew that needs to be explained?

Don't go down that route.

Go down this route.

Go down this route.

Go down this route.

And our faith gets skimmed minute after minute till we get cold cuts of verses.

I dislike that cold cut machine.

It's a big chunk.

And it goes so thin till you get one little thing that you can't put on your sandwich.

Yeah.

Obviously, I've got a problem with Kia and cold cuts.

But we let that one go.

Do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

How do you transform by the renewing of your mind?

Colossians 3.2.

Colossians 3.2 says, hey, start thinking of things above, not of the earth.

Start thinking of things above, not of the earth.

Set your mind on things above, not things of the earth.

Stop relating to the earth and its doomed deceit.

Stop relating to the earth and its negativity.

Guys, I guarantee you this.

If I begin to think negatively, my negativity will be used by the devil to torment and afflict me.

Let me say that again.

You and I have the mind of Christ.

If I choose to think negatively of situations, then notice without a shadow of a doubt that it is being fed to you not by heaven, not by the word,

not by anything godly, but by things ungodly.

And what is their intent?

If I can get Jacob to think continuously negatively about things, I can use that negativity to torment and afflict him,

even though the fool doesn't know that he has the mind of Christ.

If you feel negative about things, entertain it for a little while, like in 40-45 seconds, and then let it go.

And then reduce it to 30 seconds the next time.

Oh Jacob, we are human, we live in this world.

All this is not easy.

Of course it's not easy.

It's because we haven't practiced anything else but have lived this way for the last 40 or 50 years.

Of course it's not easy.

You should see my sermon notes from 25 years ago.

Every time I look at them, I shudder.

Joan and Sue and Ruth had to go through it.

No doubt they didn't come back to Acts 29 when I first started.

But thank God that over the years, the sermon notes are getting better.

Thanks Ruth for not saying amen to that.

Shush!

But the point is this guys, nothing happens till I choose to use what I have and practice.

Nothing happens.

And it's not strenuous practice, it's joyful practice.

What am I looking for? What are you looking for?

I want to have the same longings, thought patterns, ways of thinking as Christ himself.

If this is not what you're living for, what are you living for?

Houses? Palaces? Here and in heaven?

That's just like chappals, slippers.

It's no big deal.

It'll come, it'll go.

Set your mind on things about, not on things of the earth.

Stop relating to the earth and its doomed deceit, its doomed negativity, its doomed philosophies, its doomed traditions and its doomed spirits.

All these will feed us things that will conform us to the world.

Guys, imagine this. Some of you are only 20 or 22 or 23.

I'm not thinking of anyone particular right now.

And that's why I'm not looking at anyone young but looking at older people.

You are only 23 or 24.

I might as well look at everybody.

You're only 23 or 24 but you already have set pathways and ways of thinking that are plaguing you and you cannot get out of it.

And yet you have the mind of Christ.

You have the mindset of Christ.

Time to begin to use it.

Take a violent stance against these things.

And we'll talk about how.

It is absolutely possible to take a violent stance against the encroaching of the world into your thinking so that it becomes world-like and not god-like.

In everything there is a way to stand and we'll talk about that.

This is absolutely doable, guys. Absolutely doable.

1 Timothy 4.7 says, discipline your mind. Discipline your mind.

1 Peter 1.13, the New Kingdom says, gird up the loins of your mind.

As in, get ready, man. Discipline yourself. Get set. Discipline yourself.

Athletes discipline themselves.

Politicians discipline themselves.

Engineers, doctors discipline themselves.

Ski instructors discipline themselves.

Taxi drivers discipline themselves.

Nurses discipline themselves.

Teachers discipline themselves.

Students discipline themselves.

But Christians, no.

Strange.

The number of check, procedural checks that Heidi and other nurses have to do before they leave a patient.

Did you do this? Did you pin him here? Did you put this up his nose? Did you do this?

All those things that have to, the check list that you have to go through.

Everybody disciplines themselves.

But the only ones who don't discipline their minds for some strange reason are Christians.

Because there is no payoff, you see. Because the payoff we think is heaven.

The payoff is not heaven. The payoff is to become like Christ here on earth.

Unfortunately, if it doesn't come with a million dollars, there is nobody in this room who wouldn't change their behavior for a million dollars.

If I came and said to you, Matt, million dollars if you do this, Matt will change immediately.

Or perhaps for two million Matt.

Philippians 4.8.

When you have time, read 1 Timothy 4.7. It says, discipline your minds for the purpose of godliness.

1 Peter 1.13.

Gird up the loins of your mind so that you don't conform to your former cravings.

Philippians 4.8.

Talk about disciplining your mind.

I love this. I've been trying to do this.

Think about whatever is true, Jacob.

Whatever is honorable.

Whatever is just.

Whatever is pure.

Whatever is lovely.

Whatever is commendable.

If there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about it.

So Jacob, I start thinking like that and then my thoughts go away.

Well, go and get your thoughts back.

I don't know if you've used this analogy before, but it's so relevant.

You have a hundred dollar note in your wallet.

You open your wallet and there's a gust of wind and a hundred dollars falls out of your wallet.

What do you do?

Wow, the wind really carries that hundred dollar note.

No.

You go chasing after the hundred dollars, you pick it up and put it back in your wallet.

Just as you're putting it back in your wallet, a truck goes by and it hits the dollar again and again.

And it goes, well, now that it's gone a second time, maybe it's got a destination.

No, you go again and pick it up and you put it back in your wallet.

And a third time there's this low flying 777-300.

And before you can put it in your wallet, your wallet flies and the hundred dollar falls again.

And you're saying three times, this is a message from God.

Fly away, dear note, fly away.

No, you go back and pick it up a third time and you put it back in your wallet.

It's strange how we can do it with money.

I could bring it down to ten dollars and the story I think would be the same.

If you can do that with money, why can't we do that with our thoughts?

For me, this analogy was so like a home run that every time I'm thinking a certain way of thinking

and I begin to think a different way, all I do is go and say, father, I'm going to go after the thought,

bring it back into submission.

And so, do it again.

Discipline your minds.

It's not a big deal.

That's how you've learned everything in your life.

Why is it that Don can chop a cabbage without looking at it

and Derek would chop his hand off if he did that?

Because one has practiced it, has a discipline to it

and now one doesn't know which end of the knife to hold.

Hebrews 5.14

I really think this verse kind of cements what I'm saying.

Hebrews 5.14

Hebrews 5.14 says, hey, use your mind.

Practice discerning things with the mind of Christ

and you'll be able to distinguish that which is good from that which is evil

and you will walk in the maturity of Christ.

Meaning, it's one thing for me to teach this, it's another thing for you to hear it.

But if this week you do not take opportunities to practice dividing that which is from the old self

from the new self, you'll never and I'll never get the hang of it.

I'll give you an example as we go to the next bit.

Never get the hang of it.

So, you're upset with your spouse, you got a choice this week.

Man, he or she is driving me crazy.

You got a choice.

You're upset with your co-worker or the ones you have to do projects with

or ones who are driving you crazy, you have a choice.

You're upset with someone you're counselling because they're poo-pooing your council and saying,

forget it, you have a choice.

You're watching something on TV and you know it's off kilter

and you shouldn't be watching it, you have a choice.

You feel anger arising in your belly because you've said this thing to the person five times

and they're still doing it, you have a choice.

You feel jealousy or envy because someone who does not deserve something is getting what they deserve

and you don't think they should be getting it, you have a choice.

You have fear creeping up and fear is saying to you that you just watch.

This is going to happen to you, you have a choice.

To think with a new self which is a mind of Christ which you already have,

not what's going to happen in the future, your present possession.

That is the starting point for the renewing of the mind.

If you don't believe that, nothing else is going to happen.

If I don't believe that, I can't start.

Try making an athlete out of me.

It's going to be very difficult.

Not because of my weight but because I've got really short legs.

Someone was ironing my pants and they asked me, where's the rest of the pants?

So I stopped giving people my pants to iron.

I don't know why we're talking about my legs.

Well the point is this, you can't make an athlete out of some people.

But you can make a singer out of me, a better singer out of me.

Why? Because I already possess what is required.

I'm not required for singing.

You can make me a better singer.

I already possess it.

You have the mind of Christ.

You already possess it.

Now be renewed in it.

Guys, here's what's happening most of the time to us.

This is you before you were saved.

And this was your old way of thinking and you lived in the world.

This is you after you got saved.

The old way of thinking and you've got a new way of thinking.

But the world is still around you.

But because you've gotten so used to this, even though you have this,

you think like this.

It's not that you don't have it.

It's that you have this.

This was you before.

You got born again and it changed.

Now you have a new mind, but you still think like this.

I still think like this.

But you still think like this.

I still think like this.

And the world will try to feed this always.

Renew the spirit of – I love this line,

renew theciğimth of your mind by putting on the mind of the spirit.

Renew the spirit of your mind by putting on the mind of the Holy Spirit.

Spirit renew the spirit of your mind by putting on the mind of the spirit renew

the spirit of your mind by putting on the mind of the spirit how ah pretty

easy actually renew the spirit of your mind by putting on the mind of the

spirit how Romans 8 13 and here's what Romans 8 13 says Romans 8 13 says

By the Spirit, you put to death, by the Spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body.

How? Keep asking the question, how?

So we are saying, renew the mind of your spirit by putting on the spirit of the spirit.

How? Romans 8.13, by the Spirit, you put to death the deeds of the body.

How?

Guys, what is the sword of the spirit?

What is the sword of the spirit?

The sword of the spirit is the word of God.

How do you put to death anything?

By wielding the sword of the spirit.

The sword of the spirit is the word of God.

So the first scripture after Romans 8.13 would be Ephesians 6, wherever that verse is found, 17 or something.

Use the sword of the spirit.

So that it's not abstract.

Okay, so for instance, yesterday I was really feeling jealous and envious, not jealous, envious,

and sufficiently bitter that someone who I don't think deserves it got something that I don't think he should get.

And I was surprised at the strength of my envy, where there was this sudden feeling like bitter envy where he doesn't deserve it.

And so I thought to myself, this is not natural for you. Envy is not natural for someone who has the nature of Christ in him.

It's not natural, but it was strong.

So I thought, okay, let's use this.

Renew the spirit of my mind by putting on the mind of the spirit.

How? Put to death this envy.

How? Use the sword of the spirit.

What in the world does that mean?

Go to the word and find out what God says about envy.

So I go look, and there's one scripture that leaps out at me, it's in Galatians.

It says, if you continue in your envy and bitterness, you will devour and consume each other.

And so I read it.

And so once I read it, here's the next stage, Galatians 3.5.

How do miracles happen in your life?

Miracles happen by hearing the word and believing what you hear.

It doesn't happen through just repeatedly taking part in an action.

It doesn't happen through praying.

It happens through hearing the word and believing what you hear.

So I read this word from Galatians 5.16.

And in Galatians 5.16 it actually says, if you continue in your bitterness and your envy, Jacob,

you're going to end up consuming each other.

You will be devoured and the other person will be devoured too.

And so I actually heard this word.

I read it out to myself.

After reading it out to myself, I started trusting it.

God, when you say something like that, you actually mean it.

Then I found other scriptures that began to help me recognize God as the giver.

I found another scripture which said, that love your neighbor as you love yourself.

And as I began to read these scriptures, I actually began to trust that God has the ability to take these words

and work a miracle in my heart where my envy will be replaced.

How long did it take me? It took me two hours, man.

But in two hours, I was able to completely shed the envy I had

and started praying blessing upon this person even loudly in the presence of his family.

So did it take work? Yes, it did.

But was it worth it? Absolutely.

Because envy and bitterness is not natural for me.

I have the self-portrait of God himself.

I have the inner nature of God himself.

I have a nature that is in its true righteousness and holiness.

I am created in the likeness of God.

How can I actively participate in anything that is not God?

It's not possible.

And when my old nature is something that I ascribe to,

I will make sure that by the grace of God,

I will be able to do something that is not God.

I will make sure that by...

I get to a place where my mind has changed.

I won't continue in it.

You are struggling through different things.

There's nobody in this room, from Gisela down to the youngest,

who struggles with different things every day.

But there is always, by the Spirit, put to death the deeds of the body.

How? Go to the soul of the Spirit because that's what used to kill.

And what do you do?

Go to the Word of God and the Holy Spirit will find you

everything you need to overcome whatever you are struggling with.

Hearing the Word and believing what you hear.

Once you get to that place, there's only one last step left,

which is Philippians 2.13,

where you will find that there is nobody else who desires you to be like him

as much as God himself.

Philippians 2.13 says,

It is God who gives me both the desire and the will to do that which is good.

Trust the work of the Spirit, guys.

The Holy Spirit will help you overcome.

Trust the work of the Spirit.

Trust the work of the Holy Spirit.

There's nobody who wants you to be more like Jesus than the Holy Spirit.

This is the reason he came on the earth.

Imagine a church full of people who look increasingly more and more like Jesus this year

because they refuse to think with the old nature.

Take the thing that you're obsessed with most.

Take the habit that is plaguing you most.

Take the struggle that is hampering you most.

Take the common sin that has become an entanglement around your feet.

Take the emotion that is triggered off regularly.

Take the fear that comes crashing in on you like waves every time.

Take the future that you're scared of.

Take the problem from the past that hasn't disappeared.

And don't go with the old way of thinking.

As a man thinks, so is he.

Three things to practice, guys.

Think like God. Be God-like. Like knowing God.

Think like God. Be God-like. Like knowing God.

Think like God. With your new mind, think like God.

With your new mind, think like God.

Bless the Lord says, blessed are the overcomers.

Yeah. Think like God.

You have a new mind. Start thinking like God.

Last night through someone, God rebuked me and said,

You're nursing a debt on a credit card that you can easily pay off,

but you don't want to pay it. You just keep nursing it.

And he literally rebuked me.

Because I just pay two or three times the minimum,

and I'm letting it go away in maybe a year and a half, the debt will be paid.

Because that debt isn't bothering me.

But it obviously was bothering God because a borrower is servant to a lender.

I'm not telling you not to have credit cards or loans. That's not the point.

This is a personal story. Don't take it as a blanket doctrinal statement.

And so God rebuked me. It was literally a rebuke.

And so this morning I got up and my first intent was,

All right, just pay it off.

And so get money from here, get money from there, get money and pay it off.

Then I'm thinking to myself, think like God.

So I go to God and say, Okay, now that you've rebuked me,

I want to do exactly what you want me to do.

So tell me, how do you want to go about this?

Why? Because the old way of thinking is,

borrow from Peter, Paul and John to pay off Jeevan.

No, that's not how it works.

Now that God has told you that you need to deal with this situation,

your next question is, how do you want me to deal with you?

I want to think like you.

Why am I telling you this?

Because I'm also looking forward to telling you how it disappeared.

What happened? What did God say? What did I do?

And how did it get taken care of?

I've got no idea.

This just happened last night. This was my question this morning.

I can deal with it immediately.

I don't know if that's God's prescribed way of dealing with it.

What if he has a more brilliant plan than mine?

I'm looking forward to it. Think like God.

Because it's the only credit card I have that has a balance on it.

Everything else I've paid off.

So in my mind it was, you've done so well.

Let this stay. Take a year and a half. Be happy.

Don't worry. That's an old song.

And yet God is saying, no, stop nursing this.

You've taken care of everything else. I've helped you take care of this too.

Think like God. Next one. Be God-like.

Be God-like. As in, have his nature. You have it.

You have a new mind.

You have a new mind. You have his nature.

Be God-like.

In all your reactions, be God-like. Be God-like. Be God-like.

Put off your old self. Put on your new self.

Created in the likeness and the image of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Be God-like. Be God-like in your dealings. Be God-like.

Be God mìnhكان لقمتك باقوانا كندا.

Be God-like in your thinking that nobody can see.

Be God-like in your thinking.

Be God-like in your words. Be God-like in your actions.

Be God-like in your motives. Be God-like in your generosity.

Think like God. Be God-like. And the third one is like knowing God.

As in, may you increase in your knowledge of God.

May you increase in your knowledge of God.

Finding out more things about Jesus.

Finding out more things about the Father.

Increase in your knowledge of God.

Titus chapter 3, verse 5 says this.

Titus 3:5

Don't you know that you have been washed and regenerated and renewed by the Holy Spirit?

1 Corinthians 3, 18.

If you start beholding Jesus Christ, this is what's going to happen to you Jacob.

This is what's going to happen to you Jillian.

This is what's going to happen to you Matt.

If you behold Jesus Christ every day, then you will be changed from glory to glory and strength to strength.

And then it says, this too is a work of the Holy Spirit.

If you want to be renewed, the third part, like knowing God.

If you want to know God more, find time to behold his face.

And his face is seen in Jesus.

The face of God is Jesus.

Find time to behold his face.

It is impossible for a person who beholds his face in the word or in communion or in relationship with each other.

It is impossible for a person who beholds the face of Jesus not to be changed from one degree of splendor to another degree of splendor.

It is impossible.

The Bible says so.

And that too is the work of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 3, 18.

And then finally one last verse.

1 Corinthians 2, 10 to 12 or so.

It says, hey, why don't you let the Holy Spirit bring to you the thoughts of God and the things God wants to give you freely.

The Holy Spirit searches the depths of God and comes to you every morning saying, hey Jacob, I want to show you something the Father wants to give you freely.

And then it goes on to say, these are things that are unheard of.

That have never been seen and that the mind can't understand.

These are the things that the Spirit of God wants to bring to you.

So would you please unzip your old selves and decide that there are no more excuses.

That it doesn't matter how rotten your circumstances are.

That you will not expect the change to happen in your external but first in your internal self.

All change must begin here.

Because there is no guarantee that May will change.

I have to change.

If I'm waiting for May to change before my reaction to her changes, what if she doesn't change?

Then I live this miserable life for the rest of my life?

No, I change. It's not dependent on someone else changing.

Any questions? Because I'm done.

Use this method. It always works guys.

Put to death. How? By the soul of the Spirit.

What? Word. Go to the Word.

Holy Spirit will show you what he needs.

What do you do with the Word? Hear it.

And then do what? Believe it.

After believing it, what will happen?

Trust the work of the Holy Spirit.

Because both wills and helps you do his good pleasure.

Let the Word and the Holy Spirit collide.

There is nothing as explosive as when the Word and the Spirit collide.

Everything is created through that.

Trust the work of the Holy Spirit.

And what as change begins to happen?

As envy disappears. As fear disappears.

Which Word are you looking at?

Romans 8.13, Ephesians 6.17.

It works guys.

Man, I wish I could beg.

But it's no point me begging because that's not what will make you do or not do stuff.

Believe it.

Yeah.

Any questions?

Please ask if there's a question.

I know Diana is not here because her mum is dying.

So just remember her.

Her mum is dying.

Yeah.

No. Her mum is dying.

Any questions?

Can you do it?

Okay, my question then.

Do you think you can do this?

Do you think I'll be in a way that's responsible?

Okay, so let's assume I have a stronghold of lying.

That it's natural for me to lie.

That I've been lying since I was a kid.

It's a way to do it.