As we are on this journey with Christ, we know that life will
bring us many obstacles. As we go through these obstacles, we must stop and
check ourselves to make sure none of these things has distracted us from our
goal. No different than the need to maintenance
your car; rather it’s running good at the moment or not!
The Word of God gives us the best guidance on how to
maintenance ourselves. One of the first
steps in this maintenance process is
The determined mindset –
What is a ‘mindset’?
an established set of attitudes held by someone.
The question is how determined are we to hold onto and
accomplish our desired outcome if we can’t follow any belief that we say we have to the end? All we have is an idea or a desire; not a determined mindset. In other words, if we abandon our thought
process at the first sign of difficulty; that really was an idea; if we abandon it after some serious effort, it was a desire. Example:
failure to see a diet through to accomplish the desired outcome of weight
loss.
Most believers have the world as
their master. It tells them what to do, where to go, and how to do it. Do you
know that we have or can have many, many mindsets about many, many things? Such as:
v I’m determined to be married with 2.5 kids by 35
v I’m determined to write my first book
v I’m determined to be CEO
Not saying that any of those aspirations are wrong, however, I want to talk to you about a necessary mindset that we should all have if we want to obtain that ultimate prize that Apostle Paul speaks of:
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14
If we want to obtain the prize we have to have a determined
mindset such as Apostle Paul that says:
I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth
me. Philippians 4:13
The mindset that we need to win this race, to obtain the prize
is a heavenly mindset; all eyes on Jesus!
But, we as believers have to understand that we are no longer part of
this world, and we must actively “seek” to think the way God has called us to
think. We must seek things above.
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things
which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Colossians 3:1
It takes discipline to get, maintain and keep a
heavenly, God-centered, Jesus first attitudinal mindset
How do we practice and develop this discipline of
thinking on things above when the world and enemy influences are constantly
beseeching us? How can we actively discipline
our self to seek those things above? I
have some tips for you:
® Actively Seek Heavenly Things by Obtaining an intimate knowledge of God’s word on your Heart
It is through The word that we renew our minds and start to
think on things that are noble, good, and righteous—we start to think more like
God. How do we impress the word upon our hearts? Listen to what Moses said to
Israel:
These commandments that I give you today are to be
upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at
home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get
up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and
bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of
your houses and on your gates Deuteronomy 6:6–9
God gives them several ways to put God’s Word on their hearts.
v They were to teach the Word of God to their children.
If you are going to think on heavenly things, you must be a teacher. You must teach it to your friends; teach it in small groups; teach it to strangers. When you have to teach something, you can’t help but think upon it all the time.
v They were to talk about the Word of God everywhere: at home, when walking, when lying down, when getting up.
This didn’t mean that they were to only have theological
conversations. This meant that they needed to view everything from the mindset
of God and what God thought about things.
We should automatically think about what the word says when we see movies, watch the news, or are asked a simple question. And yes, you will be considered narrow-mined when you do this, but this is the type of mind that pleases God—a mind that is set on God’s Word.
v They were to develop reminders to help them memorize it; they were to tie it on their hands, foreheads, door frames, and gates.
Certainly, this may be done very literally as Israel did, with
memory flash cards, pictures, and paintings, but, even more so, you should set
up places and times in your daily life where you will always encounter the Word
of God. This includes things like daily meditation, small groups meetings.
By tying it on their hands, head, and doors, they constantly
saw the Word of God. This is important because if we don’t do this, we may
sometimes go a week and realize, “I haven’t read the Word of God.”
It sounds like a lot of work, but in order to “set”; to have a
mind that is immovable from the things of God, it takes discipline. Many believers
know nothing of a mind that has “set the Lord before them at all times and they
will not be shaken”
I have set the Lord always before me: because he is at
my right hand, I shall not be moved. Psalms
16:8
Many Believers are shaken by every little event. A mind that
is “set” happens only by rigorous acts of discipline, and we must seek to
develop this through study of the Word of God.
How else do we discipline our mind?
® Actively Seek Heavenly Things by Rejecting Everything That Is Not From God.
Set your affection on things above, not on things on
the earth. Colossians
3:2
Apostle Paul said we should not only seek things above but
also turn away from earthly things. In order to think heavenly thoughts, we
must get rid of or keep away from things that would draw us away from God.
For example, we are called to get rid of anxieties.
The word says,
“Be anxious for nothing” Philippians 4:6
While our mind and emotions are overcome with anxiety-ridden
thoughts, there is no way that God can be the center of our thoughts. That’s just one thing, we are also called to
get rid of lust, anger, envy, jealousy, and anything else that is not of God:
Mortify therefore your members which are upon the
earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and
covetousness, which is idolatry: For
which things' sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of
disobedience: In the which ye also
walked some time, when ye lived in them.
But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy
communication out of your mouth. Lie not
one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; Colossians
3:5–9
A determined mindset will say, this may mean
We must always zealously protect our minds. Apostle Apostle
Paul said,
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the
world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We
demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the
knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to
Christ 2
Corinthians 10:4–5
We must take captive every thought and bring it into
submission to God. Make no mistake here, beloved, our thoughts are not neutral,
innocent, or harmless. Our minds are either lorded by God or someone or
something else. Is God lord of your thoughts?
® The Believer Actively Seeks Heavenly Things by Developing A Consistent Prayer Life.
Rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing. 1 Thessalonians
5:16–17
It is through the discipline of prayer that we develop a
heavenly mindset. We must learn how to pray at all times, bringing every
thought before our Father.
® The Believer Actively Seeks Heavenly Things by Fostering Healthy Fellowship.
He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a
companion of fools shall be destroyed. Proverbs
13:20
Our thinking is often affected by our friends. The fool, in the
word of God, is a person who says there is no God or does not live for God
The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. . . Psalms 14:1
Therefore, the wise are people who fear and honor God
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and
the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Proverbs 9:10
We must develop friendships with wise, godly believers who
help us seek spiritual things.
- stay tuned
Sermonette
03/08/22
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments are welcome and encouraged!