28 Jan First Things First | Part 3 ‘God Changes the Way You Think’
GOD CHANGES THE WAY YOU THINK SO YOUR LIFE DOESN’T STINK.
Key Verse: Ephesians 4:17-32 ESV
THE MIND
We need to take our thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).
The mind drives the bus of what we do. We need to grow in wisdom and knowledge. Jesus added ‘mind’ to this commandment (Deuteronomy 6:5 / Mark 12:30). He believed what we thought was critical to how we live.
FACT: WE ARE NEVER AS SMART AS WE THINK WE ARE.
We grow in what we know to the glory of God. We need people to tell us what we don’t want to hear sometimes.
The greatest temptation is to believe we are smarter than God. Adam and Eve were a good example of that. Our mind is more than our brains, there is an intangible part of us that is more than matter. When we ignore God, we suffer. We cannot outsmart God. We need wisdom. Without godly wisdom our lives will end in demise.
Q. What are some ways that you have thought you were smarter than God and what wisdom did you gain from your experience?
1: MY MIND IS MADE FOR GOD.
Paul is unpacking the mind of someone who is not a believer. They are futile, darkened, at enmity with God and they got this way from hardening their hearts. They cannot blame others, “they have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity”. Paul says this is the natural state of man. When we reject God, we slowly become something we should not be.
When we walk away from the fear of the Lord, we walk straight into what we feel is right. Our feelings, should not dictate our actions.
APART FROM GOD – REASON MOVES FROM FACTS TO FEELINGS.
We no longer listen to the truth because we no longer listen to God. When we follow our feelings, we get confusion. We need to stop trusting what we feel and start trusting what He says. Faith is not a feeling, faith is choosing to believe what happened; that Jesus died, was buried, rose again on the third day and lives forever more!
Q. What are some examples where you have hardened your heart to God and allowed your feelings to dictate your actions?
WE NEED OUR MINDS RESCUED FROM THE PAST.
The past is not lord, He is Lord of your past. Ephesians 1:7; Ephesians 1:11; Ephesians 1:19; Ephesians 2:6; Ephesians 2:10; Ephesians 2:22
2: MY MIND IS MADE NEW IN CHRIST.
Paul is telling them that they heard about Christ and were taught in Him. Some Christians hear about Him but never learn. We need to learn what God says about us. We need to have a humble heart and commit to learning.
Old self deteriorates and deceives. Your old self lies to you.
Q. What things do you believe about your old self that interrupts your Christian walk? How are you allowing your past to dictate your future and why?
3: MY MIND MADE NEW LEADS TO BRAND NEW LIFE.
We should let the truth of God renew our minds. The work of Jesus brings us back to the way God intended us to live.
Q. What are some truths that God says about you in His Word that you are going to start truly believe?
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