Repentance: A Holy Mindshift

[0:00] I'm going to go to the Word of God now. 1 Thessalonians 5. Talking about really repentance. A holy mind shift if you like. And the mind what it's all about. What's on your mind is a question we could think of isn't it? The Bible talks a lot about the mind.

[0:19] About our thinking. And God cares about the whole you. The whole of you. Body, soul and spirit. And really the Bible puts it the other way around. In fact the order goes like this.

[0:32] As Paul prayed and the very God of peace sanctify you wholly and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul prays spirit, soul and body.

[0:46] So your spirit, your soul, it's like your psyche, your mind, your spirit. He prays about that. And that that can be sanctified, made holy. God wants to sanctify us body, soul and spirit. The whole of us.

[1:01] And so today we're just looking at really the mind. And what is the mind? When you think about your mind it speaks about your will, your understanding, your affection, your memory, your conscience.

[1:14] And our thinking is a powerful thing. It's powerful. It's who we are. As it says in Proverbs 23 verse 7. It says for as a man thinketh in his heart so is he.

[1:24] God's interested in our thinking. It's really the whole of you, isn't it? It's who you are. And we want to get our thinking right. Of some the Bible says that their minds are blinded so they cannot believe. It says of some that their minds are defiled.

[1:41] On the positive side it says you can have a sound mind, a readiness of mind, a renewed mind. So we're talking really about mental health. The Bible talks about that. The world talks about mental health.

[1:53] But really the Bible goes a lot deeper into the spiritual side. It shows how we can know a true peace of mind, our true mental health. And there's a spiritual dimension to it. We can have a sound mind, a God-centered mind.

[2:08] What's on your mind? It's a big question. We're going to unpack some of the Bible verses that talk about the mind. And the Bible contrasts for us right thinking versus wrong thinking. We see that in Romans 8 verse 6.

[2:20] Paul talks about being carnally minded or minded after the flesh. He says that's death. But then he says to be spiritually minded is life and it's peace. Some people are fleshly minded. Some are spiritually minded.

[2:35] For some their mind is a focus on that which is earthly. For others it's a heavenly focus. We see, for example, Philippians 3.19. Paul writes to the Philippians of some whose end is destruction.

[2:49] Whose God is their belly. Just all after their appetites and feeding their flesh. And whose glory is their shame. Who mind earthly things. For some that's all that they're on about.

[2:59] It's their whole life is consumed about the earthly. About earthly things. And then they're missing out really on what truly matters. Thankfully we don't have to stay there. Staying and minding the earthly things.

[3:12] The Bible talks about a change of mind. Which is repentance. It's a change of mind. It's what it literally means. It's where we go from that wrong thinking pattern. That human thinking.

[3:23] To the right human kind of thinking. A mind shift. A mind shift. It's like what happened for the Gadarene demoniac. In Mark 5. It tells about him as he was there in the tombs.

[3:36] And he was cutting himself. And obviously distressed. And it says of this man. That as they came to Jesus. They saw him. That was possessed with the devil. That's where he was.

[3:46] He had the legion. And now he was sitting clothed. And in his right mind. And they were afraid. There's a real transformation there. That he had that change of mind. And when we get saved.

[3:57] Truly. We end up in our right mind. Now we're not necessarily. In such an apparent way. As the demoniac. But there's a sense where. When we're lost. We're in death. And living in the tombs.

[4:08] There's a hopelessness there. And when we come to Christ. We're in our right mind. We're in our right mind. And our thinking gets changed. As a transformation. That's really what repent means.

[4:20] It's literally. Metanoia. Change of mind. It's a huge change of mind. Isn't it? It's total reversal. From where we were. To where we are in Christ. And it's when God shifts our thinking.

[4:33] That transformative change. That happens in our thinking. That's what happens at conversion. It's like what happened with the prodigal. We see in Luke 15. It tells of him.

[4:44] Of course we know the story. How he was there in the pig pan. Far away from the father's house. He'd wasted his substance. In righteous living. And there in the pig pan. He came to himself.

[4:55] Or you could say he came to his senses. It says there. That he came to. Think of how the hired servants. Of his fathers. Had bread enough and to spare. And he says.

[5:05] And I perish with hunger. And then it says. Verse 18. I will arise and go to my father. And I'll say to him. Father I have sinned. Against heaven and before thee. It says he came to himself.

[5:16] He came to his senses. There's a sense when we. When we get saved. We come to our senses. Don't we. The Bible says that we can have the mind. Of Christ. Think of that. It's something the Bible talks about.

[5:28] This phrase. The mind. Of Christ. And we can just gloss over that. But when you think about that. What does that look like? The mind of Christ. You know there's a popular slogan that says.

[5:39] What would Jesus do? You could ask the question. What would Jesus think? What would Jesus think? What would Jesus be thinking about? And we should be thinking about that. We see it portrayed in Philippians 2.

[5:51] Where it tells of our Lord. It says Philippians 2 verse 5. Paul says to them. Let this mind be in you. Which was also in Christ Jesus. Who being in the form of God.

[6:02] Thought it not robbery to be equal with God. But he made himself of no reputation. And took upon him the form of a servant. And was made in the likeness of man. And being found in fashion as a man.

[6:14] And he humbled himself. And became obedient unto death. Even the death of the cross. What an example. Our Lord sets there. The ultimate example really isn't it. In right thinking.

[6:25] That he came as that true servant. He came to be the salvation of the world. The sacrifice for our sin. We see him come. As he related to people.

[6:35] In his dealings with them. And he was full of compassion wasn't he. He was full of grace and truth. In all of his dealings with others. He was reaching out. How could we be more like him?

[6:46] It says that we can have this mind. The mind of Christ. Think of that. How can we think more like Jesus would think? How can we live in that whole new different perspective?

[6:57] Of course we're still living in the real world. We've still got to live like everyone else has. With the pressures of living. Of making a living. Of making a life for ourselves and our families.

[7:13] But now we know more than just minding the earthly things. We now know the maker of the earth. The maker of this world. And we can know him and his personal purposes for our lives. For every one of us.

[7:24] And in Christ when you think the mind that we have. It's a new mind. It's a new way of thinking isn't it? We've got a new purpose. We've got a new eternal hope in Christ. A new eternal purpose.

[7:36] A new way of thinking about the future. And this word hope. Which is another repeated phrase in the scriptures. It talks about a full assurance. We can have a hope. We can know the reason for life now.

[7:48] We can have an assurance that we've got a life that makes sense. There's a sense of purpose of God for our own life. And as safe people we've got a whole new way of thinking.

[7:59] As well as a whole new way of living. And we can look ahead for the future. As much as there's trouble and there's uncertainty. And in the world stage at the moment. We know the world is in a lot of challenging times.

[8:12] But we can look beyond the circumstance. And know the maker of heaven and earth. And we can know that he's leading. We can look forward with hope. With that assurance that we're in the palm of his hand.

[8:23] We can look with assurance. With hope to our Lord. And we can look at what lies ahead for us. Knowing that our future is one with hope. Sure hope.

[8:34] The Bible talks about the living hope. And as God's children by faith. We can have an eternal perspective. That whatever lies ahead for us. And there could be trouble there too. Our anchor is in the eternal promises of our God.

[8:47] Isn't it? We're anchored in that. And it's a whole new dimension. A new way of living. A new way of thinking. We see in Ephesians 4.23. It talks about the renewing of our mind. We don't have to stay in that earthly thinking.

[8:59] That earthbound thinking. We've got a purpose and eternity. We've got our saviour. And relationship with God. So we can think differently to the world around us.

[9:12] When you think about it really. We shouldn't be tuning into the same worldly programming. As the next door neighbour who doesn't know the Lord. We should have a renewing of our mind. We should be thinking differently.

[9:23] What does right thinking look like then? The Bible talks about having a sound mind. Paul writes to young Timothy. For God hath not given to us the spirit of fear. But of power and of love.

[9:34] And of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1 verse 7. God gives us a mind that is sound. The word sound it means healthy. Wholesome. In a world full of fear. We can know a hope.

[9:45] And we can know a certainty. We can know a healthy mind. A sound mind. Not a mind that's full of fear. But a mind that is full of hope.

[9:58] Fundamentally when you're saved. You know God. You know your saviour. And you love him. Think of it. Of the love of God for you. And when we love God.

[10:10] It says that we should love God. Including with our mind. That one that our Lord told the searching man in Matthew 22. It says. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God.

[10:22] With all thy heart. With all thy soul. And with all thy mind. It's a rational thing to love God. To love him with our mind.

[10:32] With our reason. With our intellect. It's a rational thing. It's the reasonable thing to do. So there's a total love for God. Our heart. Our soul. And our mind. He doesn't bypass that. So how can we get to love God with our mind?

[10:45] It's got to take that mind shift. Repentance. Our mind changes. Doesn't it? When we get saved. Our mind changes. Our thinking changes. We submit to the Lord. We trust in his promises.

[10:57] We know that he is in control. We break free from that conformity. To the world's thinking patterns. We become a people that are spiritually minded. We think differently from the earthly minded.

[11:08] We think differently on many fronts. For example. About priorities. When we get saved. Our thinking changes. About priorities. Doesn't it? Our Lord says. But seek ye first the kingdom of God.

[11:18] And his righteousness. And all these things. Shall be added unto you. Matthew 6.33. When we get saved. There's a new priority. We seek first the kingdom of God. That's the first consideration.

[11:29] Our attitude changes. Our focus. What we seek after. What we count as important. It all changes. Once we're saved. We seek after what is different. Our focus.

[11:40] Our fulfilment. It's not seeking after worldly wealth. And pleasure. And power. That's not the focus. It's what will please our God. His kingdom. We'll seek that as our number one consideration.

[11:53] Seek first his kingdom. His righteousness. Notice it's his righteousness too. And we want to seek after that. God's will. We want to commit our actions to our Lord.

[12:04] To make wise choices. The Bible talks a lot about wisdom. In the Thursday night group. They're going to be talking about wisdom. As they go through the book of Proverbs. We see that in Proverbs 4 verse 7.

[12:15] It says wisdom is the principal thing. It's the main thing. Therefore get this. Get wisdom. And with all thy getting. Get understanding. Think of the world. There's a lot of knowledge.

[12:26] We call it the information age. You know. Information technology. It's everywhere. There's a lot of information out there. But where's the wisdom? That can be lacking. Isn't it? It's about a choice. It's about deliberate thinking.

[12:37] Where do we get the wisdom from God? Book of Proverbs. The whole book. The book of the Bible. God's wisdom. It's in there. In the book. Isn't it? And we think differently about.

[12:48] A whole lot of things. We think differently about money. Our values shift. We're not driven by the greedy grasping mindset of the world. We found it's more blessed to give than to receive.

[12:58] It's a value shift. It's about that wisdom. It's about priorities. It's about a shift in those values. We see Philippians 4 talking about our thinking.

[13:09] Paul tells the Philippians. He says what to think about. He says this. Finally brethren. Whatsoever things are true. Whatsoever things are honest. Whatsoever things are just.

[13:20] Whatsoever things are pure. Whatsoever things are lovely. Whatsoever things are of good report. If there be any virtue. If there be any praise. Think on these things. We can think about a whole lot of stuff can't we?

[13:32] Our mind can get obsessed. I know. I sometimes get overwrought with what I've got to think about and plan. There's people in business and in work life where you're bombarded with so many considerations and plans to make and things to think about.

[13:48] But especially think about these things says Paul. When we get saved we get spiritually minded. We want our thinking to be right. There's a whole new outlook. An eternal focus. Eternity is stamped on our thinking.

[14:01] And our frame of reference changes. It's a different world view. Eternity. Eternity. Fact is you're going to be dead much longer than you're going to be alive.

[14:12] That's true isn't it? So we should get ready for eternity shouldn't we? It's important that we know God. That we have this heart change. This mind change. To know him. And by the spirit of God we can be.

[14:24] Changed. Born again. It affects the whole of us doesn't it? As a renewing of our mind. As our mind gets renewed. So does our sense of purpose.

[14:35] We want to align our life with God's will. God helping us. That's what our intention changed to be isn't it? There's that transformation too. And how we deal with others.

[14:45] What happens in our relationships. We think differently about people. Don't we? Some people test that more than others. We think differently about people. That could be in the area of forgiveness for example.

[14:58] Grace. It's a choice isn't it? How we think differently. Paul tells the Colossians in Colossians 3 verse 12. Put on therefore as the elect of God.

[15:09] Holy and beloved. Bowels of mercies. It's talking about that compassion on the inside of you. That kindness. That humbleness of mind. Meekness. Long suffering. This is about getting on with others.

[15:20] Forbearing one another. And forgiving one another. If any man ever crawl against you. Even as Christ forgave you. So also do you. There's a humbleness of mind.

[15:32] How we relate to others. It's a new way of thinking isn't it? Instead of being such that we want to get even. Or we have jealousies. Or resentments. Or such. Rather we exercise compassion.

[15:43] We exercise love. We exercise patience. Long suffering. It's the mind of Christ. It's counter cultural isn't it? That we're no longer thinking like the world would think.

[15:54] Where it's all about look out for number one. We actually want to look out for one another. It's the mind of Christ. We think differently about people. We also think differently about life and work.

[16:04] Like in Nehemiah's day. In Nehemiah's time. Of course there was a job to do. Building the wall. And it says Nehemiah 4 verse 6. So built we the wall. And all the wall was joined together.

[16:15] Unto the half thereof. For the people had a mind to work. Something happened in their mind. That they got motivated. They got motivated. It's good to get motivated.

[16:27] To want to be and do something for God. It's a good motivation to have. We can't get enough of it. We can't overdo that. The people had a willingness to serve. They had a mind to. Their mind was shifted to serve.

[16:40] That would be a good thing to pray about. How can I have a mind to serve? How can I have a mind to do something for God? God commended his son Solomon. David commended his son Solomon.

[16:51] For having a willing mind. It says in 1 Chronicles 28 verse 9. Thou Solomon my son says David. Know thou the God of thy father. And serve him with a perfect heart.

[17:02] And with a willing mind. For the Lord searcheth all hearts. And understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts. If thou seek him he will be found of thee. But if thou forsake him he will cast thee off forever.

[17:13] Notice it says Solomon. Serve God with a perfect heart. With a willing mind. God makes us willing. So the pastor doesn't have to motivate you.

[17:25] God motivates you. God motivates you. As Paul said to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 verse 19. He said he had been serving the Lord with all humility of mind.

[17:38] He had been serving the Lord with all humility of mind. With many tears and temptations. So we think differently about work. About service. We think differently by God's grace too.

[17:50] About our circumstances. By faith when we face life's troubles. We think differently. We're not like the world. When trouble comes and they despair. Or they doubt.

[18:01] We see in Luke 12 29. Our Lord says. Seek not ye what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink. Neither be ye of doubtful mind. Some people they're full of doubtful mind.

[18:11] They're consumed with doubts and worries and concerns. Our Lord's telling us. Don't be concerned. Don't be consumed with that. Because we've still got the mortgage to pay the rent.

[18:23] We've got food to find and feed our families. But when we face life's trials. We can think differently. We can think differently. And not be consumed with our anxious thoughts.

[18:34] Like the world would be. But rather we can know God's peace. And he promises that. In Isaiah 26 3. There's a promise there. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace.

[18:44] His mind is stayed on thee. Because he trusteth in thee. God promises to keep your mind in perfect peace. He'll help you to guard your thoughts.

[18:55] When you face circumstances that are testing. We can know a true peace of mind. To get through. We will. As safe people we've got history.

[19:06] And help. We've got promises like Proverbs 3. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart. And lean unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him. And he shall direct thy paths.

[19:17] There's a guiding principle here. That as we trust in the Lord. As we have faith. He will guide our steps. He will show us the way. We've got a shift of focus.

[19:29] Because we've got his help. To guide us through. It gives us a compass. A foundation. An anchor. And it makes sense of life. We see Colossians 3. Paul tells the Colossians.

[19:41] Seek those things which are above. He says set your affection. Well it's the same word elsewhere. Translated your mind. Set your affection. Set your mind on things above. It's a mind shift isn't it?

[19:52] Our affection changes. God changes our outlook. Our outlook. Our mind. That's what he does for you. When you trust him. When you're saved.

[20:03] As you believe. He gives you a new way of thinking. He gives you a new direction. It's a work of God's spirit. That mind shift happens. It's repentance. We're supposed to be different.

[20:14] Such that we delight to do his will. Like David says. God births that inside of our heart. I delight to do thy will. Oh my God. We can come to that state of mind and heart.

[20:26] Where it's a delight. To do God's will. To honour him. Our affection is there. Our love. Not like the carnal. At enmity with God.

[20:38] Hostile. But rather. In love with God. God. When we look about the mind. We think about the mind. I just want to take a few minutes.

[20:48] To unpack. What the Bible talks about. As strongholds. The Bible says. There's a load of strongholds. I don't know about you. But I felt under attack lately. I'm under attack. Pray for me.

[20:59] For Julie. Pray for the church. There's a lot of attacks. There's a lot of challenges. There's a lot of testing. And sometimes. I'm human. I'm really human. And I need prayer.

[21:11] I need your prayer. The Bible warns about strongholds. We all face that. We all have this battle. This battleground in the mind. Mental strongholds. That hold people.

[21:22] There's a battle going on. It's in all of us. You know. I often get people say. Pastor pray for me. Yeah. Make it reciprocal. Pray for one another. You know. Pray for one another.

[21:33] It's a battleground in the mind. We read about that in 2 Corinthians 10. Where Paul talks about the weapons of our warfare. They're not carnal. But they're mighty through God. To the pulling down of strongholds.

[21:44] He says. Casting down imaginations. And every high thing. That exalteth itself. Against the knowledge of God. And bringing into captivity. Every thought. To the obedience of Christ. There's a lot in that.

[21:55] We could spend a lot of time. Just on that key scripture really. To unpack that. But it's talking in. In simple terms. It's talking about mental strongholds. Mental strongholds.

[22:06] Destructive thought patterns. We can all have destructive thought patterns. Where we can feel. Lacking in faith. In zeal. We can feel overwhelmed.

[22:17] With the circumstances of life. The practicalities. Dealings with people. Disappointments. Discouragement. Disappointment. It's par for the course.

[22:27] We're all having that battle. And think about some of these mental strongholds. Things like unbelief. As we read about the father of a boy. Who had a dumb spirit.

[22:38] Who came to our Lord. And it says that the father of the child cried out. And said with tears. Lord. I believe. Help thou. Mine unbelief. It's a reality.

[22:48] It's a reality. That we all struggle between faith and lack of faith. We can doubt God. It's human. All of us have those times. Times like that. We can question his faithfulness.

[23:00] But the Lord wants us to press through. To trust him. Wholeheartedly. Not to waver. Without faith it is impossible to please God. He doesn't want us to be in unbelief. But to be in faith.

[23:11] And this mind shift that happens. This is overcoming this mental stronghold of unbelief. Isn't it? Where we place anything above him.

[23:22] Or in place of him. That's more important than God. Things. Rather than have that faith. To trust him. Another mental stronghold is bitterness.

[23:33] Bitterness. Hebrews 12.15. We all have things happen to us. Things that we're ashamed of. Things that have hurt us. We've been victims. And we can have hurts.

[23:45] You know. I could share with you people that have hurt me. But I don't want to dwell there. I don't want to stay there. I don't want to even remember it. Bitterness. It says. Looking diligently. Lest any man fail of the grace of God.

[23:57] Lest any root of bitterness springing up. Trouble you. And thereby many be defiled. Bitterness. Kind of eats you up from the inside. Doesn't it? Stuff. Stuff that's happened. Stuff we should have given to God long ago.

[24:11] Chips on our shoulder that we still kind of looked at. It's still there. Can't get it off. It was like that this morning. There's something on my shoulder and I can't get it off. It's not that chip. I need someone to take this chip off my shoulder.

[24:22] God can. God can take the chip off your shoulder. God can take the roots of that bitterness away from you. If there's things that have hurt you. Let it go. Let it go. It can be unforgiveness.

[24:35] Can't it? Resentment. The Lord calls us to forgive others. We don't have to want to. They don't have to deserve it. They probably don't.

[24:47] But we should forgive, shouldn't we? It's thinking differently. It's the mind shift. And it's pursuing that peace with others, with God. Not harbouring the hurts. Let it go.

[24:58] It's gone. Put it out with the garbage. This will help us to be spiritually and mentally healthy, to let go of that mental stronghold of bitterness. Another mental stronghold can be despair and hopelessness.

[25:12] Even the psalmist cried out, Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God. For I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance and my God.

[25:24] Let's be like the psalmist there in Psalm 42, verse 11, to put our hope in our God, even in difficult circumstances, to let go of doubt and despair, to find God's comfort, to see us through his word.

[25:38] Another mental stronghold is worry. Worry, it says. Philippians 4, 6. Be careful, or in other words, don't be full of care. Don't be full of care for nothing.

[25:49] But in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

[26:03] It's going to garrison your hearts and minds. It's going to keep watch over you. The peace of God's going to watch over you. God's peace. And we can cast all our anxieties, all our cares, through prayer on him.

[26:15] We can find his peace. And it's beyond any human understanding. It's a mind shift, isn't it? It's a mind shift. Let go of the worry and care.

[26:25] Give it all to him. Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee. Anxiety is a weapon of Satan. Someone has said worry is faith in the devil.

[26:36] Isn't it? Don't you trust him? Don't you trust your Lord? And what reason have we for worry? Truly. Worry is faith in the devil. Don't trust in the devil. Trust in the Lord.

[26:48] Trust in the Lord. He'll watch over you. He'll care for you. Repent of worry. Another mental stronghold that we have a need of a mind shift from is pride.

[27:00] Pride. Proverbs 16, 18, it says, Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. The Lord warns us against pride. We can all get proud. We can get proud as a church.

[27:12] We've got the doctrine all right. And we're better than all the other churches. You know? No. Pride. It's flesh, isn't it? It's flesh. The Lord warns us against pride.

[27:24] Even pride in doing the right thing. We can get prideful about our righteousness. Can't we? That's a sin. When we're prideful, we can miss God's guidance, can't we?

[27:35] We can get to the point where we think we've got it all together. No. Don't ever get there. Pride goeth before destruction. We've all got to keep that humility of heart. Our dependence is upon Him.

[27:46] Because pride will stop us from seeing God's guidance, and we end up out of God's will. We see Nebuchadnezzar as an example of this kind of pride.

[27:58] Daniel 5 verse 20, it says of Nebuchadnezzar, Pride hardens people.

[28:11] We see what pride did to the devil. I will. I will. No, you won't. No, you won't. Pride, isn't it? It's a problem. It's a problem in humans too.

[28:22] Rather, let us come unto God with humility. To keep humble. To keep humble, lest we stumble. We can all have moments when we can feel overwhelmed. And it's easy to give way to negative thinking patterns.

[28:35] We think of these strongholds. We can all face these mental strongholds that we touched on. Unbelief. Bitterness. Despair. Hopelessness. Worry. Pride.

[28:46] There's plenty more. Mental strongholds. God says, cast them down. They can all be overcome. Overthrown. By the grace of God, you can overthrow them. You can have that mind shift.

[28:57] God can affect it. That repentance. Our Lord tells us what to do. He tells us to take our thoughts captive. Take our thoughts captive. To make our thoughts obedient unto Christ.

[29:07] By God's grace, we can win the war in our mind. We can bring our thoughts under His authority. The authority of our Lord. And our Lord shows us how. It's about having the mind of Christ.

[29:18] 1 Corinthians 2.16. It says, For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ. So again, just to bring it back to this point.

[29:31] The mind of Christ. The mind of Christ. God says that the saved will have the mind of Christ. How can I know the mind of Christ? It's about the knowledge of God. How can I be more like Him?

[29:43] The one who humbled Himself. Who stepped down from heaven's glory. From the very throne. To down to human form. To being made a real man. And die a real death.

[29:53] And shed real blood. But for our real sin. On a real cross. Friends. How can I know the mind of Christ? How can I be like Christ? How is it that I can change my mind?

[30:07] This repentance. This holy mind shift. So when we go from unbelief to faith. So when we go from lies to truth. And the Lord can help us as we take that mind shift.

[30:18] That the Word of God will work in us. Such that we'll know the Scriptures. We'll remember them. We'll hide them in our heart. We'll overcome evil with good. God's truth. That God will help you to overcome the enemy's lies.

[30:32] Those mental strongholds. As you submit to the Lord. In humility. As surrendered. As living sacrifices. Now when it says we should be a living sacrifice. That includes our mind.

[30:44] That we should submit our mind. To our will. To God's will. We can overthrow those mental strongholds. Of the mind. That hinder.

[30:55] Our walk with God. Maybe you might think of some of those things that we've touched on. Unbelief. Bitterness. Despair. Worry. Pride. Oh. Some of that spoke to me today.

[31:07] You can know the mind of Christ. God can help you to get the victory. To overthrow those strongholds by faith. One by one we can tear them down. Tear them down. To find blessing.

[31:19] From God's Word. It's as His Word works in our mind. We see in Acts 17.11. Of the Bereans it says. They receive the Word with all readiness of mind. They search the Scriptures daily.

[31:31] Receive the Word. Take time with the Word. Let it fill you. Let it flood you. Let it overflow you. The Word of God. Use your mind to discern. Like these folks did.

[31:43] It matters what we feed our mind with. Are we feeding our mind with the trash that our neighbours who don't know the Lord are feeding their minds with? The social media.

[31:53] The world's watching. And swallowing. Or is it rather what's God telling me? Through the Scriptures daily. The daily resources of His Word.

[32:04] Search the Scriptures. Friends, we're in an ongoing battle. It says that they search the Scriptures how often? Daily. Daily.

[32:16] It's a battle that we're in. But we can know victory. These mental strongholds. These weapons of our warfare. They're not carnal. But they're mighty through God. Mighty through God.

[32:28] As the Lord says, it is written every time He was confronted. Sadly, some people are blinded in their minds such they don't know the Gospel. It says of some that their minds are blinded.

[32:38] The God of this world has blinded the minds of them that believe not. They don't have the Gospel. They don't have the Gospel. But friends, for we that are saved, God helps us to change our mind. He adjusts our thinking.

[32:50] There's this holy mind shift. That's repentance. This holy mind shift. And it's an ongoing thing. This holy mind shift. By faith. By faith. That God renews our mind. As Paul tells the Romans, Romans 12.

[33:03] He says, present your bodies a living sacrifice. Holy, acceptable unto God. It's your reasonable service. He says, be not conformed to this world. But be ye transformed. How?

[33:14] By the renewing of your mind. By the renewing of your mind. That ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Again, to that point.

[33:25] Have ye the mind of Christ? Can we get that total mental breakthrough? That letting go of the mental strongholds of this world. The thought patterns of the world and its ways.

[33:38] With the thought patterns of the Word of God. The thought patterns of our Lord. The mind of Christ. What would Jesus think? When you face a consideration. When you face a decision that you make.

[33:50] When you face relationships. When you face circumstances. When you face challenges. What would Jesus think? What would he want? What would his will be? Can I align my thought patterns with the Word of God?

[34:06] The Lord can help you have victory. To not be as those who dwell on vain, earthly things. Of worldly emptiness. The Godly have a new way of thinking and living.

[34:18] And friends. I assure you today. That you can know God's sure peace. And it says that peace of God is beyond all human comprehension and understanding and limitation.

[34:31] The promise is for you. God can refresh your thinking. One last scripture. And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.

[34:45] Paul prays for the Ephesians. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind. Put on the new man. Which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

[34:55] When we have our mind right, the right spirit, then we can know God's righteousness and true holiness. Righteousness and holiness comes as the new man takes dominance.

[35:09] As you're renewed in the spirit of your mind, as you put on the new man, God's righteousness and holiness follows. Our mind can be sanctified, made holy.

[35:22] Let us pray. Lord God, we pray for each one here present, those watching, Lord, for your great grace to prevail on our lives, our families. We pray for those struggling today, those that might be searching and not finding yet, Lord, that they will find, as your word says, ask and you shall receive.

[35:41] Seek and you shall find. Knock and it shall be opened unto you. Help us to pray through, to pray for that peace, to know that peace, as you promised to keep us in perfect peace where our mind is stayed on thee.

[35:54] Lord, help us to have that holy mind shift, that heavenly mind shift. As we know this world would fill our mind with mental strongholds of unbelief, of doubt, of fear, of resentment, of bitterness, of hurt, of circumstances overwhelming.

[36:10] Lord, help us to find rather the peace of God that passeth all understanding, that shall keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Help us, Lord, to reverse our thinking such that we won't think like the world thinks, but we'll think like you think, our Lord.

[36:26] You that came and gave your life as the substitute for our sin, to be our saviour. You showed such great love. You loved the world so much, Lord, that you would do such for us, unworthy as we all are.

[36:40] Lord, yet help us to have grace with others too, that we'll extend that love to others, that we'll extend that compassion of your heart, that we'll treat others like you would treat them, that we think of situations like you would think of them, that we'd have faith like you would have.

[36:57] Help our unbelief, Lord, when we have those struggles of life. Pray for any of us searching here today, yet to trust you as saviour, that they'll bow their knee, their heart, their will, to say, Lord Jesus, thank you that you died on the cross for my sin and rose again, and you can be my saviour by faith.

[37:15] I trust you. Lord, we pray for each one that will grow in that faith, that we'll be renewed in our mind, in the spirit of our mind, that we'll be more like you every day.

[37:26] Give us grace, Lord, to make every thought obedient to Christ, every thought. And we know our thoughts are inclined to wander, we're inclined to be distracted with media, with social media, with all kinds of voices in our ears.

[37:43] Lord, help us not to lose track of your voice, that we'll be such that we'll search your scriptures, we'll daily want that help to our discerning, that we'll think right, we'll think straight, we'll think holy, we'll think as the mind of Christ would think.

[38:01] Lord, we pray for everyone here, Lord, that you would just do that work. Help us to take something home, even just one scripture of all these many that we've talked about today, that we'll find our grace and peace in you.

[38:15] We'll cast all our care upon you, because you care for us. We praise you in Jesus' precious name. Amen.