Be Renewed in the Spirit of Your Mind - Tim Conway

Fijians 4:23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds obviously you're picking up there and with a conjunction this is connected back if we're really going to pick this up more in its entirety we probably need to move back to verse 20 that is not the way you learn Christ even there we're assuming something that's gone before how is the way that we haven't learned Christ well if you go back to 17 this I say and testify in the Lord you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do that is not the way you learn Christ assuming that you have heard him and were taught in him as the truth is in Jesus here is the truth that is in Jesus if you've been taught in him this is what you've been taught to put off your old man and throw pass man anthropology study of man this is the old man this is how you learn Jesus if in fact assuming that you have it's to put off your old man which belongs to your former manner of life that's what Gentiles are that's the former myth that's why you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do because you put off this old man which belongs to your former manner in other words when you were Gentile ish put off your former manner of or put off your old man which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds and to put on the new man created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness several things excite me about having the privilege of being able to preach to you all on a regular basis for one I get to learn all the time I mean when I when I open up to a new text it's Lord teach me but I also even from the days my days as an engineer one of the primary things we did in when I was in engineering school and then when I worked as an engineer is problem-solve and I love that I love to be and scripture is full of problems and I also like I just like the unexpected you know what I'm listening to preachers I'm often thinking what are they gonna say next what are they gonna say next I like it when the preacher says something next that I'm not anticipating what catches me by surprise and I find that happens in scripture on a regular basis I like when Paul surprises me these are some of the things that I enjoy about being able to study God's Word unexpected things why am I saying why am I saying this because verse 23 is what we're dealing with today and that just seems unexpected I think you can see here in this portion of Scripture we are being confronted by two primary excerpt ations one in verse 22 one in verse 24 I think you can see that put off the old man verse 22 put on the new man verse 24 but inserted right between these two excerpt ations we get 23 I mean Paul's obviously transitioning from the one put off to the other put on it's the negative put off put off the old man that's the negative excerpt ation put on the new man that's the positive it's always transitioning from that negative to that positive and bang verse 23 I mean why is that there is that even necessary now I know you could say this well it's in Scripture that's inspired God knows better than we do obviously it was necessary yes I know that I know that but I mean I'm I'm talking about Paul as a man is communicating yes he's inspired yes he's being carried along but Paul is a man who was using his logic he was using his brain to communicate why does he have to say this why is this statement even necessary before getting to the positive exhortation of putting on the new man why does he have to go say to be renewed in the spirit of your minds why the interruption and here's the thing that strikes me about this doesn't it seem like I mean it seems to me like if I'm going to say to put on the new man well by default doesn't that include verse 23 I mean you see what I'm saying if I put on the new man doesn't that mean to put on the new mind doesn't the new man have a new mind why single that out of all the things that are true of the new man why does he feel like he has to lay that foundation before he can before he can go on I mean isn't isn't new mind being renewed in the mind isn't that part of the package don't you think I think so and then there's something else about this that should surprise us now you don't see it in the English it just doesn't just jump out at you but you remember how last week I emphasize to you that to put off the old man that's not a passive verb remember I mean that was a big emphasis you've got it it's your responsibility now it's it's in the middle voice look you have basically three voices in the green you have passive you have active and I was really stressing last week this is active well it's actually in the original in the middle voice but middle voice is active it simply means you have to do it to yourself and that's what putting off the old man is you have a responsibility it's active in that sense it's middle voice meaning you have to do it to yourself and as we could probably anticipate verse 24 putting on the new man saying you've got to do it now that's probably two weeks from now we're really gonna nail that our responsibility there but you know what is so interesting about verse 23 and now you would think okay Paul's hitting you this is middle voice you've got to do this you're responsible to take off that old man that's you this is you you can't just let God do this this is your responsibility same with putting on the new man but you know what's happening here in verse 23 paul cuts in right at this point and says you need to be renewed in you in your minds renewed in the spirit of your minds and he suddenly throws a passive at us like you don't do this so you've got a responsibility putting off that old man and then being renewed in the spirit of your mind passive verb you don't do it God does this and then right back to our responsibility to put on the new man that's surprising to me this feels it feels like a bump in the road the truth that we are taught in Jesus is this to put off your responsibility the old man to be renewed in the spirit of your mind God's responsibility and to put on the new man your responsibility that's how we're taught in Christ that's what he's teaching here that's that's the flow so as we're thinking about this verse 23 let's let's just for a moment forget about the verb here and what's communicated by that but I mean let's think about the verb itself stop thinking about what voice it's in or what tense it's in but just renewal renewal I me know as we're thinking about this what is Paul talking about in verse 23 re Newell being made new again REE I mean you can - ate it our e - ate that new but we're being made new all over the idea is that we're being restored to ape that what was renew mean being restored it's one thing to be new it's another thing to be renewed REE new that means you're being brought back to a former condition a previous condition that we once had it suggests that there's been some kind of departure from where we once were some some kind of previous condition to which I must be brought back that's the idea suggests that there's been a departure and now okay let's come back to the verb it's in the continuous present which means what I say I didn't know there you know each verb had so many things can it actually be passive and it can be continuous saying can be present yes those those are all identities that are held in a verb it's continuous present which means what it carries the idea that it's something that has to happen now and it goes on happening the Christian must go on being renewed it's not something that happens once and for all and it's all over and that's the end of it the idea is that this is something that is continuous I've got to go on being renewed you've got to be renewed today and day by day doesn't scripture say that you remember where Paul says these words we do not lose heart though our outer self or outer man is wasting away our inner self our inner man or just inner in the in the original there's it's just inner the inner is what the inner is being renewed day by day again passive God does that to you don't you like that picture every day you rise up and newness there's there's a renewal God is renewing day by day I like that thought every day you rise up God is working powerfully working actively working he's bringing renewal I mean do you understand the power of God that is at work in the life of the Christian each day sometimes we can it's almost like watching your children grow you know from one day the next you don't hardly notice it but you got to stand back and recognize what's really happening in the life of the true believer something amazing something miraculous literally our inner is being renewed it's being acted upon by another it's passive now brethren the other classic text so you got this one here in 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 which day by day we're being renewed you've got this text over in Ephesians chapter 4 that talks about the the renewal of the Spirit of the mind but you know there's there's another classic text Jeff actually mentioned it this one found in Romans chapter 12 verse 2 and let's look over there at this we're gonna jump back to Ephesians in a second but I want you to see this you know one of the things that that jumped out at me is I'm searching this week for every place in scripture that I can find where it's speaking about renewal where it's speaking about renewal of the mind where it's and what I'm finding is that this whole idea of renewal in Scripture every place where it's coming up you just I mean I know I somebody can always find some exception somewhere obviously there's responsibilities that we have that concerning the mind I recognize that but it's amazing how much how much you just find passive verbs used here in other words it is something that God has to do to us but I'm taking you over to Romans chapter 12 verse 2 because again Paul surprises us if you haven't studied it closely I know that Andre has we've talked about this one before listen to this do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind that by testing you may discern what is the will of God what is good and acceptable and perfect but what I'm wanting you to focus in on is this be transformed by the renewal of you see the renewal he's not saying the spirit of your mind here he leaves spirit out but it's it's the mind and it's renewal okay again the verb is passive active passive active you do it passive it's done to you but I know I'm giving you lots of verbal information this verb is an imperative okay let's just think about imperative passive verbs just think with me what's an imperative a command what's passive you receive you are acted upon okay is anybody kind of feeling a tension between something that would be imperative and passive at the same time you are basically being commanded to have something done to you how do you do that that's what we want to talk about today because that's the issue imperative it's a command be transformed by the renewal of your mind it's a command be renewed in the spirit of your mind but it's passive you don't do it so you're being commanded to do what you don't do you like that so you know those are the kind of surprises those are the kind of unexpected things you get in Scripture that I just love passive means that we do not perform the action it's performed on us Paul is commanding us to be changed by God so that our minds are renewed and I just ask this question how does one go about submitting themselves to such a command how do I obey command that I'm not even supposed to be actively involved in performing you should be asking questions like this if you want to take this book seriously we need to ask questions like this because you know what we're dealing with here in Ephesians chapter 4 we are dealing with three of the most fundamental verses in Scripture that have to do with our sanctification I know there's others but if you want to figure out this life of pursuing holiness this life of becoming christ-like here are some of the foundational principles and so one of the things you better figure out is how do I do verse 23 how can I be commanded to do something that is in the passive that I'm not even supposed to be doing to myself well here's the thing oftentimes when you get an imperative passive they come with the word let that's often that not just in Greek but but in English if you get an imperative passive it's often accompanied by the word let let me give you an example if I say Joshua let me cut your hair well I just gave him a command but that's passive because he's not gonna cut his own hair I'm gonna cut it you know let me cut your hair probably not a good idea but that's that I mean that's that's the that's the sense that we have when we have an imperative passive verb you're being here's the thing you are being commanded to let someone else do something to you that's the idea here that's the sense of Romans 12 to let God perform his transformational work in the renewing of your mind what we need to recognize it once is that as a Christian my mind my mind is the workmanship of God brethren what I'll tell you on the one hand with this confronts us with is the absolute dependence that we have on the Lord in this we need him Oh God renew my mind I need you to do I need you to transform me by the renewal of my mind we're dependent it's passive being renewed day by day Lord I need you to do that totally dependent and yet it seems obvious by the way in which Paul presents us with this doctrine of the renewal of the mind that he's indicating that this is something that we have to strive to let happen that's the sense of it you have a responsibility in it even though you don't perform it on yourself you have a responsibility to strive to let this thing happen although it's done to me I am not without responsibility here that's the issue Paul seems to be indicating that we can hinder this from happening we can hinder this work so even though the main emphasis is upon the fact that are being renewed is something that's done to us we must be careful that we don't in any way frustrate this and my question to you right now is this are you doing anything in your life that's frustrating this from happening because I'll tell you this Paul doesn't stick this in here needlessly if he puts this before putting on the new man then be guaranteed of this without this reality happening in your life you are not going to successfully put on that new man and so the question is this are you in any way frustrating this from happening the renewal of the Spirit of your minds are you frustrating this we don't want to do that we want to strive to let this work of the Spirit of God free happened to us it's an imperative passive it's a command like this have this done to you that's the idea do all you can to do to promote it and encourage it I mean what does renew mean what do they tell us what does it tell us about what the Christian needs what is our need Paul says it's to be brought back to where we once were with respect to the mind our mind needs to be re novated refreshed revivalist een at once what that our minds have departed from that which they once were departed when I mean in the course of a day I think it's obviously certainly the fall the fall of man I mean this takes us back we've already been in Genesis 3 but it takes us back there because the reality is what do I need to be renewed back to what is what is it that I've departed from often we think of him Adam there in the garden and he's eating that fruit and yes he sinned guest he rebelled but what you got to recognize is back there in the garden man's mind was wrecked we don't really see it we don't we don't apprehend it so much we know that man fell into sin but you recognize what the catastrophic result is of that fall upon man's whole outlook in his mind it's all gone wrong if the spirit it's the brethren it's the spirit of the mind that is wrong it's gone wrong it's wrecked our fundamental way of thinking and reasoning has become twisted it's become perverted it's become distorted renewal Hrant that just sound desirable I mean what Oh God bring renewal we talk about revival and renewal is so close to revive to live again renew to be made new again to restore sounds very desirable being caused to become new different but you know what the idea here is there's there's a specific emphasis I'm not just new not just different but the definite implication is that we're becoming superior over and above to take on a new mind not just a new mind but to be renewed in the spirit of the mind let's think about this spirit I mean often we think of spirit but you know if you know about the original when you come across spirit it literally means breath or it means wind I like that imagery to be renewed in the wind of the mind because when I think especially here in this heat in Texas you know what it's like when that cool breeze hits you I mean Zeke and Craig and I went for a bike ride on Tuesday and we stopped at some point and when we were stopped all of a sudden this wind came you just think of that reviving refreshing wind and wind speaks of power recently when we were coming back from Colorado we were driving through the north western Texas where you've got all those those big wind turbines thousands of them propelled by the force of the wind that's that's the idea the power of the mind the power behind it's not just the ability of the mind it's that power behind what's happening in the mind I mean people can have tremendous mental capacity high IQs high intellects I mean you know there's the the world is full of people who can think and it can do intricate mathematical problems we're not talking about that we're talking about the power behind the ability that's that's the issue Paul is not saying that the natural man is not a Christian because he doesn't have a brain that's that's not the issue he has a brain the problem is that his brain is of no use to him why because it's it's broken scripture says that a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God their folly to him he's not able to understand them because they're spiritually discerned spiritually destroyed you can take guys like Stephen Hawking's or Richard Dawkins or you know I don't know if any of you've seen this guy the psychologist Jordan Peterson I mean his his ability to logically reason and argue is is tremendous these guys have and yet when you watch him so once in a while it seems like his his stuff comes up and it crosses my path and yet you watch him try to to reason with the resurrection or something and it's you know he's so fluid he's so masterful you get to something spiritual it's why the spirit of his mind that's that's the issue it's a spirit of the mind that's gone astray no man needs to have a new brain to become a Christian it's the spirit of the mind it's got to be changed have you ever considered when you go back up to verses 17 through 19 we can go back to Ephesians now he's in chapter 4 but you go to Ephesians 4 and you look at what Paul begins to say in verses 17 18 19 when he talks about the fact that now this I say I testify in the Lord you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do in the futility of their minds you see that the that their understanding is darkened ignorant that is in them how many of those things have to do the mine ignorance futility of mind the understanding is darkened do you do you recognize that the typical thing we think about you know the lost world around us sensuality given to impurity but you realize Paul doesn't even get to sensuality and purity until you get down to what verse 19 you see what all comes before it's it's the mind the spirit of the mind has gone astray when the mind and understanding are ignorant and crooked the whole man's crooked doesn't scripture say these many translations do as a man thinks in his heart so is he the tragedy of every man who is not a Christian it's the very pinnacle the very highest point I mean when God created man he gave man a mind unlike any of the other creatures and the spirit of his mind it's it's wrecked before a man ever gets to the sensuality and before he ever gets to the impurity his mind is all wrong and you see what Paul do you recognize what Paul's doing Jeff Jeff was talking about things in the first hour I think he was alluding to some of the the you know trying to try to be an elder and you're dealing we're dealing with discipline situations but you recognize you recognize what being said but what Paul is saying to these Ephesians unto us is don't be amazed that people go off into all sorts of sin and they're not able to put off the old man and put on the new why because they haven't been renewed up here it's not something's wrong something's gone astray you see so something changes in a man and in his thinking when he walks by a massage parlor and he's like a a dog on a leash I got to get in there versus the thinking of a mind that says run flee Christ is so don't want to interrupt this I mean something's happening in the thinking something's happening in the way the spirit of the mind operates this is critical and Paul recognizes it you've got to undo that wreckage in the mind before you're ever gonna escape all the sensuality and the impurity the perverseness of man that demonstrates itself on the outside unless that spirit of the mind is renewed transformed changed we cannot do this ourselves that's a big issue we need to let God do this and we met almost cringe hearing that kind of language like God what's that I mean God is great God is big God is sovereign what business do I have talking about letting God do anything doesn't God always do precisely what God wants to do certainly but what I'm talking about is this let God's Spirit work in your life and in your mind in an unquenched state the scriptures say don't quench the spirit certainly it does can can we say with imperative Authority allow God to work in your life in an unquenched fashion certainly even right here in Ephesians we're gonna get to it very shortly it says be filled with the holy spirit do you know that's also a passive verb the Spirit does that to you and yet it's being presented to you in a way where there's a responsive ah what do I have to do to have the spirit more fully filming influence me how do i unclench on grieve the spirit how do i how do I keep my relationship with the spirit so open free and powerful that the full extent to this renewing of the mind the spirit of the mind can happen in my life how do I do that brethren if you're commanded to let God's Spirit transform your minds then don't do anything to present or prevent yourself from having the spirit operate on the spirit of your mind in the most unquenched fashion possible on the contrary you know what you want to do you want to make I think of you know I have a garden raised bed garden at home Victor just brought me a bunch of wood shavings to put in my compost pile you put compost brethren you if I plant plants there I want to make that soil so [Music] inviting for seeds planted in it or seedlings to thrive I want my mind the spirit of my mind to be like that the most fertile soil possible and present it to the spirit please Lord I want to see the fruit I want to see the plant flourish I want to see the wind feel the wind of the Spirit blow in my mind with greatest effect that's what we want to have happen we want to do all all make everything our mind a place for the winds of the spirit to breathe and blow and this is this is obviously no side issue with Paul it's he sees this as absolutely essential to putting on the new man the spirit spirit of the mind must be made right by the holy spirit have this done to you allow this to happen this is essential because Paul is that Paul is not calling for mere mechanical conformity and you know somebody can come in the church and they can see how we act they can see how we talk they can listen to people who have studied Scripture a parrot can imitate what we say I've more than once felt people say the right things but something's wrong with them and it comes back to this the spirit of the mind and we're not looking Paul is not looking for mere external mechanical conformity he's asking us to put into practice and intelligent change you see what's happening when we get to putting on the new man clothing ourselves with the new man it's not just external conformity to GCC or external conformity to what we think Christianity looks like it's got to happen at a deeper level this is an intelligent conformity something is happening in the brain where we think different our thinking is superior to what it was before there there is actually an intelligent change taking place put on the new man yes but the Christian must not do anything without knowing why is doing it intelligence is essential knowledge is essential that the spirit of the mind operated on by the Spirit of God is essential if you do not know why you are living the Christian life you're not equipped to put on the new man as you ought I mean this this comes out everywhere one of my favorite places is there in Romans chapter 6 what is Paul say Paul says you must count yourself reckon yourselves to be dead to sin then he goes on to say don't let sin reign in your mortal bodies but before he says don't let sin reign he says you've got to consider yourselves to be dead to sin and alive to God you got to think the right way and if you don't think the right way you don't fight the right way and it all becomes external and all you do is come walking in and anybody can come in here and say well I see the way they homeschool I'm gonna homeschool that way I see the way that you dress I'm gonna dress that way I hear the way they talk I'm gonna talk that way and we get people like that that come in here and they're doing that but but the spirit of the mind you get talking to them very closer you get watching their life for and it seems like something's wrong they're seeking to conform but it seems like it's external it seems like something's not right here and ultimately something isn't right there because brethren I'll tell you this there was a day Friday night came I was like a caged animal you put me away on a Thursday night or a Friday night or a Saturday night or it even got to be Sunday night my weekends grew longer and longer the more I spiraled down into sin but if on a Friday night if if I couldn't go out I was like a caged animal and if I would a dirt driven by that I mean there were certain places where we hung out there were certain places where we party there were certain place on a Friday night if I'm going by there it's like everything in me is drawn there but you know what once I became saved I could drive by that place and I could even see all my friends cars over there but you know what the thinking was different I mean I had been renewed in the spirit of my mind I thought different I had a knowledge now I had a knowledge about things something else was happening up here I wasn't like oh I gotta get over there all I gotta be with all my life wraps around them oh my life is nothing and empty unless I can do that there's been a change a radical change this is the kind of thing that Paul is referring to so what can we do and here's a question how can I invite the spirit how can I put myself in the place to where the Spirit of God will most actively engage in the work of renewing the spirit of my mind the truth is if we're honest there there are a handful of brothers and sisters in here that over the last year have been most most renewed in the spirit of their minds I mean among all the true Christians that are here there are those that have most and you don't want to just relegate that to the sovereignty of God you know why you don't want to because there are verbs that are imperative that means your success or lack of success comes back to you well can we do certainly if we're commanded to have this done to us if it's an imperative Paul's thinking is that it does go beyond the sovereignty of God and I've always loved the illustration described by Mary Jones maybe some of you have seen it in Charles Leiter's book and one of her parables taken from Welsh farm life Mary Jones she's going to be with the Lord now she was a close friend of Martyn lloyd-jones I know that Mona Leiter visited with her when she was still alive she wrote parables and living there in the mountains of Wales far from normal means of electricity those farmers got innovative and they took advantage of the water flowing off the mountains to produce electricity and this is what Mary Jones says a dam had been built across the stream to divert the course of water TV intake it was it was an intake into a tube way up on the side of the mountain water would go in that tube shoot all the way down the side of that mountain into turbines at the bottom and create power for the farmers she said through this or was she says this a dam had been built across the stream to divert the course of water to the intake which was covered by a grading like a screen a mesh grading for obvious reasons through this ran the water the full force of it directed to a pipe which led through a drop of some 500 feet to the turbine channeling the water in this way gave it a great increase of pressure and power to drive the turbine which turned the Dynamo that generated our electricity in spite of this convenient arrangement Marian her husband occasionally found themselves in darkness or semi-darkness well they knew what they had to do there in Wales and rains all the time I mean the situation wasn't drought the situation wasn't that the water wasn't there the situation isn't that the Holy Spirit isn't here the situation is what why did they find themselves in darkness or semi-darkness not because the waters of the stream failed but because high up on the mountainside the great had been blocked by sticks and debris in such situations the process of blockage often just begins with a small stick and then another soon other branches follow eventually the influx of power from above has stopped almost completely only when the rubbish is removed from the grate where the water begin to flow through the channel again and the lights shine brightly and so it is with the Christian life what a perfect picture allow the Spirit of God to send that water down into the turbines of your mind with full force that's the issue that's what we're that's how you get a passive imperative verb let this happen to you don't put debris needlessly in the way we're called to ponder move the sticks and debris that are blocking this free influx of the spirits power what can I do well you got to get you got to get the debris out take it away I'll tell you one thing you can do this create in me a clean heart and renew there's our work renew a right spirit there's our word renew a right spirit in me you can ask you can pray I mean if you want to invite the spirit in invite him to come in Holy Spirit you are most welcome to work on my spirit of my mind please come and do that but do it honestly do it honestly don't ask God to help you lose weight and then gorge yourself on chocolate fudge the same principle you can you're not even being honest if you say come dwell but then you throw your mind into the garbage it's not being honest you need to repent I mean that that's really what it comes down to him am I I mean is there blockage here be honest I mean that might be a good place to start you know the thing I found about blockage is most Christians already know it's there they've just been trying to justify it for too long the spirits already convicted them you're trying to quiet it I would say this scripture we're talking about sanctification here we're sanctify them in the truth your word is truth I mean the Spirit works in the atmosphere of Scripture if you think about the washing of the water of the word right that means you just think about all the text faith comes by hearing the word of Christ were born again through the incorruptible seed of the word of God the gospel is the power of God unto salvation scriptures are able to make one wise unto salvation the truth Jesus says the truth will set you free or he said to his disciples you're already clean because of the word that I have spoken to you the Word of God is living and active God says it's not my word like fire declares the Lord or listen to this this is probably the most applicable verse in your Bible the law of the Lord is perfect reviving the soul or renewing or refreshing the inner renewing you want something to renew you the law of the Lord that's where the spirit operates I brethren I mean I'll be honest pastor Lee my assumption was my assumption has been in pastoring this church I really believe that the vast majority of you come to this church because you believe the church is biblical you believe we preach the truth but every once in a while I am staggered to hear that one of you or some of you almost make it a habit to not be in your Bibles when I hear that I think wow they came here they moved here they did this they did that they want to be under the preaching but they're not in they're not in their Bibles you're not making that soil a place for the Spirit of God to work through the wind of your mind if the mind is not being constantly washed and fed and immersed in the Word of God how can any any of you who have come to believe that you can be a healthy Christian and not live in the scriptures you are wrong you are wrong your thinking is wrong change your mind repent of that that's not right sanctify them by thy word like word is truth or sanctify them by thy truth thy Word is truth you can't get away from that reality you want sanctification you want to grow into the likeness of Christ it's coming from the Word of God you've got to it's active it's powerful it's like a hammer it's like fire it moves it's the power of God unto salvation faith comes by hearing you and your faith increased hear the Word of God you want to grow rather than you can't get away but you read it about this you behold the glory of the Lord you're transformed from one degree into the other I tell you this you're not beholding the glory of the Lord I recognize you can see glories of the Lord in the firmament in the creation but you don't see it near as clear as you see it in the four Gospels no way nohow creation itself will not lead you to the truths that you'll find in this book nowhere near the depth of the truth how about this we're told in Scripture all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God led by the spirit you want to be in the place where the Spirit is most unquenched and unn grieved in your life then be led by the spirit follow convictions follow your conscience be led be sensitive to the spirits leading rather than we sang this song that may been the first time we sang I am his and he is mine here maybe we've done it before maybe it's just been years but I love something lives in every hue Christ las' eyes have never seen do you know do you know when you take the parallel passage over in Colossians what you find is this that the new man is being renewed again it's passive unto knowledge or to knowledge or in knowledge but the idea is that as the Spirit works to renewing our mind we grow in knowledge and I'm not just talking that this this isn't that your IQ increases or this isn't that you learn how to speak Spanish or how to do a mathematical equation it's nothing we're not talking we're talking a spiritual knowledge like a man knows something heaven above the grass sweeter green I remember singing that song not a community I was always affected by that because that's true you begin to look up you see the Chrysler eyes they can see the grass they can see the sky but we know suddenly we look and we know suddenly I can look at my friend's house over there where all my friends are gathering and I know everything is putting I have a perspective on things I know I I can look up at the firmament and I see his handiwork I know something suddenly there's a perception I come face-to-face with sin I know I uh uh uh uh you are not my master any longer I can say no to you and see I know this up here and so I can say no to it and say uh-uh I'm fighting you and I've got the tools to kill you and I'm doing that or before we just we're let around by it woe is me trying to justify my sin the spirit of a bind whole spirit change us Christ 'less eyes they don't see and you know we're gonna get on this we're good we're good as we move through this I mean you just think about something like this let the thief no longer steal let him work with his hands why so that he can give you see before you even get to doing this it's about knowing and then all of a sudden there's a knowing you know what the thief does he looks at the poor man he says I like his mower I'm gonna steal it the Christian it's it's the spirit of the mind and suddenly they said his poor neighbor and he doesn't see his lawnmower he sees his poverty he says you know what I'm gonna go work with my hands so that I could give to him you see Chrysler sighs don't see like that and we see different we see everything different we see the mountain range different we see the sunset because we know something we have a knowledge God is real is the most incredible reality of all God created all this he spread out these stars and said we know something and there's worship that accompanies all this you can hawkings didn't have that Carl Sagan didn't have that the spirit of the mind and and this is something it's a continuous present it's got to happen today and it goes on happening day by day day by day day by day see this is something you need to have to have not just on Sundays when you come under the preaching day by day this needs to be happening don't brethren like a weight lifter you know you really he really wants to get in shape but all of a sudden you catch him over here and he's eating this hot fudge sundae don't do that don't do that ah invite the spirit to come in and do everything to leave those channels the spirit the the wind of the mind blow blow blow I want to see things I want to see Christ I want to feel it he said it's the kind of thing where I don't know like I think often times about coming up to Clark and Martin Luther King and there's a there's a Catholic Church there and they've got this painting on the wall over there and it shows Mary like it's Queen of Heaven with this crown on him this little baby and the Catholic Church always does that they minimize Christ it's like you drive by that all all day long but with it when the winds of the mind are being renewed restored refreshed they're blowing you look at that in you're angry because you feel you see you know there's a knowledge I'm being renewed on the knowledge I know but Mary is small she's a sinner saved by grace and I know Christ is great and he's on the throne there's been a change in my mind and I want to feel it and I want to know it and I know want to hinder it and I'm gonna go get everything off the grading and I'm gonna keep it away so that the lights don't go in the semi-darkness and some of you know what you there are genuine Christians here and you know this for a fact for Paul to come along both to the Thessalonians and say don't quench the spirit and to the Ephesians saying don't grieve the spirit you know what the reality is true Christians can quench and grieve the spirit and some of you are living in half darkness right now it's because you've let things pile up on that grading but I'm going to tell you Paul sees this is absolutely essential he's not going to take us on to putting on that new man until you get this straight in your minds this is essential and some need to make radical changes we need to make changes don't dismiss don't justify the stuff that clogs the grading and I fear I fear but many minimize the degree to which the internet clogs that grading you be careful you see we're moving we as Christians we're moving into a new era people before us they didn't have to deal with this we're in a new generation where are those Christians that are going to take this kind of teaching serious and unclog the grading brethren how I don't want to be in that position to where on Judgment Day I found out I could have been so much further beyond where I am but I didn't take the imperative seriously and I left the debris on the grading and I lost out on a lot of opportunities to glorify the Lord be more fruitful to be more joyful to be more used but I let that stuff pile up on that grading so that I basically lived my life at half power god help us two weeks put on the new created and the likeness of God and true righteousness and holiness father I pray that you'd help us help us grow help us in the spirit of our minds may the winds of revival blow so often we think of blowing through the church but blow through our our minds the spirit of our minds the wind the breath breathed on us Oh breath of God breathe I pray in Christ's name Amen

Channel: I'll Be Honest

Views: 6,215

Rating: 4.8649788 out of 5

Keywords: Ephesians 4:23, Tim Conway, mind, renew

Id: Li7vaGtrGyQ

Length: 58min 19sec (3499 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 14 2019