Nathan Lewis – The Mind of Christ – Class 3: The Renewing of Our Minds

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OK.
So some of Philippians is our

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school son, as most of you know.
And so the children are going to

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sing that to start off study
three.

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All right.
Thank you, young people, for

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that.
And looking forward to then our

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third study.
We’ve enjoyed a nice lunch

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together.
So thank you again for all those

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who’ve helped with that.
So this morning, brother and

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sisters, we considered them.
We the we considered the

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spiritual mind as seen in our
beloved, the Lord Jesus Christ,

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as we reflected on our own minds
and how that battle is going for

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each one of us.
We also last night considered

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the natural carnal mind, and how
that is the natural mind.

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And we now, this afternoon, will
be considering the process to go

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from the problem to the
solution, as our brother Nathan

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indicated last night, that we,
indeed all of us, may desire and

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be instructed by the Divine
Instructor, Our gracious Lord,

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as it says, be thou forever near
me, teach me to love thy sacred

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word, and view my Savior there.
To introduce the third study,

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the renewing of our minds,
Brother Nathan’s asked that we

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take a Bible reading together.
That’s going to be Ephesians

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chapter 4 starting at verse 17
through to verse 24, and I call

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on our brother Ash and Samuel to
lead us in this reading.

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Reading together, Ephesians
chapter four was 17 to 24.

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This say, this I say therefore,
and testify in the Lord that you

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henceforth walk not as Gentiles
walk in the vanity of their

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mind, having the understanding
darken, being alienated from the

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life of God, to the ignorance
that is in them, because of the

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blindness of their heart, who
being past feeling, have given

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themselves over an unto the
seriousness.

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To work all uncleanness with
greediness, but you not have not

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learned Christ.
If be that you have heard him

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and have taught by him, as the
truth is in Jesus.

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That year put off concerning the
former conversation the old man

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which is corrupt according to
the deceitfulness, lusts and and

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be renewed in the spirit of your
mind.

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And that year put on the new
man, which after God is created

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in righteousness and true
holiness.

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Now then, ask her brother Nathan
to give us his third talk

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entitled The Renewing of Our
Minds.

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Brother Nathan.
Thanks, brother Justin, and good

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afternoon, everybody.
Welcome back if you can cast

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your minds back through the
vagaries of lunch.

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You’ll remember that we
discussed the story of Legion

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and the way in which that was a
powerful parable, wasn’t it?

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Of what God promises to do for
each of us to replace our carnal

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mind with, well, the mind of
Christ himself?

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It was really the promise to
replace an evil conscience,

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fear, shame, and concealment
with calm.

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Peace, a covering and openness.
This is the power of Christ to

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change, radically change, our
way of thinking.

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Evil conscience replaced with a
good one.

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This is God’s promise, his gift
to us, if we will but receive

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it.
But last time, and partly, I

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suppose, because it was that
word of exultation this morning.

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We didn’t have time to examine
just how amazing the spiritual

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mind is and how comprehensive
God’s promise and His solution,

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His gift, really is, how
incredible the spiritual mind

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really is, and how perfect an
answer it is to the carnal mind.

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So let’s just refresh ourselves
with the problem, the portrait

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of the carnal mind that we
looked at last night.

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And in case you were wondering,
we will make these slides

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available on I think, after
Thursday night’s class.

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All right, So you don’t need to
feel too stressed in your minds

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about getting things down, all
right?

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Because we will move through
this relatively quickly.

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You’ll remember these are the OR
the characteristics of the

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portrait of the carnal mind,
alienated and isolated, hardened

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and proud, defiled and impure.
Angry and hostile, given to

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excess and greed, progressively
corrupted of the truth, blinded,

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vain and empty, doubtful and
anxious, spiteful and cruel,

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forgetful and unmindful and
unstable and easily shaken.

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Now look at the portrait of the
spiritual mind.

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We’re not going to have time to
look up any of these references,

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but just let this wash over you.
This is how we naturally think

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this is legion.
We’re like him, isolated,

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unclean, angry, aggressive,
unstable.

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But do you know what?
If you look up the word mind.

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In the scriptures and go through
every occurrence of the word

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mind, which I’ve done.
You will find that they very

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easily fall into two categories,
that either bad categories or

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bad category or a good.
It’s either blinded, proud,

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vain, faint, clearly, carnal, or
it’s humble, peaceful, pure.

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Hearing clearly spiritual And
here it is, a portrait of the

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spiritual mind we’re made nigh
we are joined together, a humble

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and a lowly mind.
We read in Philippians, a mind

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that’s holy and pure.
Lies I 26 is that will keep him

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in perfect peace whose mind is
stayed on the peaceful and

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tranquil, sober minded and self
controlled, progressively grows

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towards the truth.
Remember we referred to 1st John

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5 and verse 20.
In our exultation we have been

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given a mind to know him who is
true, to grow towards him to

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grow towards truth.
The spiritual mind beholds the

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glory of God.
It’s renewed and large.

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It’s trusting and calm,
compassionate and caring,

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forward and ready, steadfast and
confident.

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This is a portrait of the
spiritual mind.

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Now you’ll get the references
later, but just look at the

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power of this when we put these
two minds side by side, one’s

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destined for death, the other
for life and peace.

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Alienated and isolated, you just
think in your mind what the

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opposite of that is made nigh,
Joined together, adopted,

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hardened and proud, humble and
lowly, defiled and impure, holy

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and pure, angry and hostile,
peaceful and tranquil, given to

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excess and greed.
Sober, minded and self

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controlled, progressively
corrupted of the truth, grows

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towards the truth.
Blinded, beholds the glory of

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God, Vain and empty, renewed and
large, doubtful and anxious,

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trusting and calm, spiteful and
cruel, compassionate and caring,

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forgetful, forward and ready.
Unstable and not easily shaken,

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A steadfast mind.
Isn’t that amazing?

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This is a comprehensive, perfect
solution to the carnal mind.

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God has the exact answer to all
of our problems, to absolutely

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every part of what we struggle
with.

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And it’s His gift, as we saw
this morning.

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It is freely given to us of God.
But you see, it’s not a gift

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that’s bestowed in a moment of
time.

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It’s a lifetime’s journey.
It is a process from being born

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with a carnal mind.
It’s about striving each day

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more and more towards God’s
promise.

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For us, it’s a lifelong journey
towards a spiritual mind.

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So by what process does God?
Freely give us this gift of the

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spiritual mind.
Exactly how does God replace our

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carnal mind with a spiritual
mind?

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Well, that’s our subject for
this afternoon, The Renewing of

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our minds, The process.
And I’d like to start and well,

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no surprises really.
Romans chapter 12, Romans

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chapter 12.
We just want to survey a few

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references this afternoon, most
of which we’ll know fairly well.

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As we look at this topic, the
renewing of our minds and Well,

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Romans chapter 12 is the main
passage that we think of when we

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come to this topic.
I beseech you therefore,

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brethren, verse one, by the
mercies of God, that ye present

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your bodies a living sacrifice
wholly acceptable unto God,

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which is your reasonable
service, and be not conformed to

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this world.
Be transformed by the renewing

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of your mind that you may prove
what is that good and acceptable

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and perfect will of God.
It’s pretty clear, isn’t it?

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We’re either going to be
transformed or conformed.

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And conformed has the idea,
doesn’t it, of being conformed

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by external influences, but
being transformed.

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Has the idea of being
transformed from within, renewed

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from within.
We’ll see whether that’s

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entirely true in a moment of
time.

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Romans chapter 12, however, is
the beginning of the

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exhortational part of the book,
and you probably know this

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breakup of Romans in your own
minds.

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But let’s just run over it
together.

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Paul is going to deal with the
journey of our discovery of the

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truth.
In chapters 1-2 and three, he’s

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going to deal with the concepts
of sin and righteousness.

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In chapter 4, he’s going to talk
about faith in chapter 5, the

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atonement in chapter 6, baptism
in Chapter 7, the ongoing

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struggle between the flesh and
the Spirit in chapter 7:00 and

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8:00.
In chapters 9 to 11, he’s gonna

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answer where Israel fits into
this grand and glorious scheme.

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And now he comes in chapter 12
to the exhortational part of his

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epistle.
And the very first thing he says

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in chapter 12 and verse one is
that it’s an issue about our

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minds.
We need to make a choice about

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the fate of our minds.
Don’t be conformed, he says.

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It’s the Greek word.
Suska Matitso.

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It means same mold or same
scheme.

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You can probably get that out of
Suska Matitso, same scheme.

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Don’t be pressed into the mold
of the world.

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Now you might remember that
right back in Romans chapter one

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and verse 28 Paul had said to
the gentiles or seed of the

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Gentiles that God gave them over
to a reprobate mind.

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In Romans one and verse 28 and
the word reprobate means

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depraved or degenerate,
unacceptable.

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A mind that is disapproved.
And here he says don’t be like

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that, don’t be pressed into that
mold.

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Renew your minds that you might
be approved, acceptable, good,

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perfect.
There’s a choice of thinking to

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be made, and you know that word,
that Greek word suska matiza,

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only occurs twice.
In the whole of the New

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Testament, and the other time is
in the first Epistle of Peter,

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and again it’s about our minds.
Wherefore gird up the loins of

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your mind, be sober, and hope to
the end for the grace that is to

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be brought unto you at the
revelation of Jesus Christ as

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obedient children, not being
conformed to your former lusts.

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In your ignorance, make a
decision, he says.

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Don’t be fashioned or pressed
into the world’s mold.

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Don’t have your minds shaped by
the world.

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Rather be pressed into the mold
of Christ.

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In fact, if you’re still in
Romans 12, he’s already said

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this as well back in chapter 8
in verse 29, for whom he did for

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know.
He also did predestinate to be

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conformed to the image of his
son.

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This time it’s a slightly
different word.

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Soon morfu.
It means same form, but it’s

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basically synonymous with
chapter 12 verse two.

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So we have a choice and mines
actually are going to be

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conformed to something.
Well, we don’t actually get a

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choice.
We might think while we either

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get to be conformed by the
external influences of the world

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or we get to experience an inner
transformation, actually no.

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Our minds will be conformed to
something, either the image of

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the world or the image of our
Lord Jesus Christ.

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That’s our choice.
We get to choose.

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So we need to change the way we
think.

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We say, all right, I can handle
that.

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How, how much?
How much do I need to change the

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way I think?
How?

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How radically do I need to
change A little?

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A lot, mostly.
Romans chapter 12, verse two

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says be transformed by the
renewing of your mind.

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It’s a complete transformation.
We are a new creature and you

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will be aware that the word for
transformation is Metamorphu.

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It literally means a change of
form meta change morphu form.

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So literally chapter 12 verse
two should read be not same

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shaped as the world but be
changed into another shape by

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the complete.
Change of your mind.

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This is revolutionary thinking.
Now, as you know, metamorphosis

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happens to caterpillars.
So I thought I’d do some

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research on caterpillars and
butterflies and present for a

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00:19:11,660 –> 00:19:16,260
few minutes on the process of
metamorphosis as we can readily

218
00:19:16,620 –> 00:19:19,020
observe it in the insect
Kingdom.

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00:19:20,180 –> 00:19:23,660
And there’s some pretty
remarkable facts about this

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00:19:23,660 –> 00:19:27,220
process.
Do you know that in order?

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00:19:27,740 –> 00:19:32,660
For the Caterpillar to get
enough energy to pupate and

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00:19:32,660 –> 00:19:37,660
become a butterfly, it has to
eat voraciously.

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00:19:38,580 –> 00:19:45,380
From the egg to the Caterpillar,
these little creatures increase

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00:19:45,460 –> 00:19:50,980
their body weight by a
staggering 1000 times.

225
00:19:52,380 –> 00:20:00,280
In these short weeks, they can
eat 30. 1000 times their own

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00:20:00,280 –> 00:20:03,440
body weight in a few short
weeks.

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00:20:04,120 –> 00:20:05,840
Just think about that for a
moment.

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00:20:05,840 –> 00:20:13,680
We’ve all had lunch 30,000 times
your own body weight in a few

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00:20:13,680 –> 00:20:19,600
short weeks, which even by
American standards is ridiculous

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00:20:19,600 –> 00:20:23,880
eating.
Then it hangs upside down.

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00:20:25,320 –> 00:20:29,150
It sheds its last skin.
And it pupates into a

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00:20:29,190 –> 00:20:34,790
crystalline, and inside this
waterproof shell, the

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00:20:34,790 –> 00:20:40,750
Caterpillar releases enzymes
that literally dissolves its

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00:20:40,750 –> 00:20:44,070
whole body into a nutrient rich
soup.

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00:20:45,070 –> 00:20:48,830
And then, using little embryonic
cells, it completely reforms a

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00:20:48,830 –> 00:20:51,550
new body as a butterfly.
This, this boggles your mind,

237
00:20:51,550 –> 00:20:55,830
doesn’t it?
New legs, new lungs, new

238
00:20:55,830 –> 00:21:00,730
antennae.
New organs, a new digestive

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00:21:00,730 –> 00:21:09,210
tract, a new heart, a new brain,
and a new central nervous

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00:21:09,210 –> 00:21:11,450
system.
That’s amazing.

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00:21:12,250 –> 00:21:14,690
That’s staggering.
In three to four weeks, it

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00:21:14,690 –> 00:21:19,370
emerges a completely different
creature, around half of its

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00:21:19,370 –> 00:21:24,930
previous weight, as a butterfly.
Before it used to feed on solid

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00:21:24,930 –> 00:21:30,770
food by biting and chewing.
Now it feeds on liquid food by

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00:21:30,770 –> 00:21:33,290
siphoning up nectar through a
wee tube.

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00:21:33,850 –> 00:21:37,010
Before, the abdomen had pro
legs.

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00:21:37,450 –> 00:21:42,890
Now the abdomen has no legs.
Before it used to have very

248
00:21:42,890 –> 00:21:48,050
simple eyes.
Now it has extremely complicated

249
00:21:48,050 –> 00:21:51,960
compound eyes.
Before it used to wriggle on

250
00:21:51,960 –> 00:21:56,320
leaves with its legs, and now
obviously it flies in the ear

251
00:21:56,320 –> 00:22:00,800
with its wings.
It is an utterly different

252
00:22:01,000 –> 00:22:05,640
creature, is different from a
Caterpillar as a hamster is from

253
00:22:05,640 –> 00:22:09,520
a Hummingbird.
Now let me tell you something

254
00:22:10,360 –> 00:22:17,960
which if you have wondered about
the process of creation and

255
00:22:17,960 –> 00:22:21,570
evolution.
This is going to stagger your

256
00:22:21,570 –> 00:22:25,250
mind.
In this study recently done in

257
00:22:25,250 –> 00:22:29,130
the Georgetown University on
tobacco hornworm caterpillars,

258
00:22:29,970 –> 00:22:36,490
it seems that some memories are
actually retained from the

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00:22:36,490 –> 00:22:41,690
Caterpillar to the butterfly, or
in this case of the study, the

260
00:22:41,690 –> 00:22:44,520
moth.
So they didn’t experiment where

261
00:22:44,520 –> 00:22:48,080
they exposed the caterpillars in
the last three weeks just before

262
00:22:48,080 –> 00:22:51,400
they turned into the chrysalis.
They exposed these little

263
00:22:51,400 –> 00:22:55,800
caterpillars to a very
unpleasant smell.

264
00:22:56,760 –> 00:22:59,320
And they gave the caterpillars
little electric shocks to

265
00:22:59,320 –> 00:23:03,280
condition them to avoid this
nasty smell.

266
00:23:05,360 –> 00:23:07,000
And then they went into the
chrysalis.

267
00:23:07,640 –> 00:23:11,760
They completely dissolved and
became an absolutely new

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00:23:11,760 –> 00:23:17,210
creature.
When they came out as a moth, it

269
00:23:17,210 –> 00:23:22,970
seems that they still reacted to
that particular smell that they

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00:23:22,970 –> 00:23:26,130
learned to avoid when they were
caterpillars.

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00:23:27,130 –> 00:23:31,010
Now, if that doesn’t strike you
as incredible, nothing in the

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00:23:31,010 –> 00:23:34,570
human and biological world is
going to stagger you.

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00:23:36,290 –> 00:23:38,930
Isn’t that amazing?
How does that happen?

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00:23:39,970 –> 00:23:43,180
How does God do that?
You know, I’ve always been

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00:23:43,180 –> 00:23:45,980
fascinated by this process.
And I thought, well, since I’m

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00:23:45,980 –> 00:23:48,060
doing a talk on this very
subject, I’m going to do some

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00:23:48,060 –> 00:23:51,700
research into exactly what
happens inside the chrysalis and

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00:23:51,700 –> 00:23:54,020
then we can talk about that.
And it’s just going to be

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00:23:54,020 –> 00:23:55,780
amazing.
What happens when the

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00:23:55,780 –> 00:24:00,260
Caterpillar dissolves itself and
reforms as a butterfly.

281
00:24:00,260 –> 00:24:04,580
How exactly does metamorphosis
occur?

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00:24:05,500 –> 00:24:08,140
How does it work?
So this afternoon, what I’m

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00:24:08,140 –> 00:24:11,260
going to do is try and present
in a relatively simple way.

284
00:24:11,870 –> 00:24:16,630
This carefully collated research
so that we can we can look at

285
00:24:16,630 –> 00:24:21,310
these things together, because
what the best minds and science

286
00:24:21,310 –> 00:24:25,870
have found after 6000 years of
investigation into this

287
00:24:25,870 –> 00:24:36,310
remarkable process is that we
have absolutely no idea how this

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00:24:37,110 –> 00:24:40,790
tiny little creature can go
from.

289
00:24:41,730 –> 00:24:48,610
Caterpillar to a butterfly.
In other words, it’s a miracle.

290
00:24:49,530 –> 00:24:52,010
There’s no other way, is there,
to describe a new creature

291
00:24:52,010 –> 00:24:54,730
formed by metamorphosis except a
miracle.

292
00:24:55,130 –> 00:25:00,730
And Paul says that’s exactly
what is going on inside our

293
00:25:00,730 –> 00:25:06,290
heads.
It cannot be explained and it

294
00:25:06,290 –> 00:25:11,300
cannot be investigated.
It’s a complete transformation

295
00:25:11,300 –> 00:25:14,500
from the carnal mind to the mind
of Christ.

296
00:25:14,660 –> 00:25:20,740
But if you took an MRI of our
skull, you will show no change.

297
00:25:21,660 –> 00:25:26,060
If you dissect their brain, it
will reveal nothing, but we will

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00:25:26,060 –> 00:25:29,220
be a completely different
person.

299
00:25:29,590 –> 00:25:33,910
We are a new creature in Christ,
as Second Corinthians 5 and

300
00:25:33,910 –> 00:25:37,390
verse 17 says, And brothers and
sisters and young people, we

301
00:25:37,390 –> 00:25:43,670
have no idea how it happens.
It is simply a miracle.

302
00:25:45,110 –> 00:25:47,950
Or at the very least, if you
feel a little bit uncomfortable

303
00:25:47,950 –> 00:25:53,270
about the word miracle, a
complete mystery, This is God’s

304
00:25:53,270 –> 00:25:57,870
work.
This is what Brother Dennis

305
00:25:58,030 –> 00:26:03,750
Gillett says at the start of his
book Genius of Discipleship be

306
00:26:03,750 –> 00:26:07,150
transformed by the renewing of
your mind, Hence the use of the

307
00:26:07,150 –> 00:26:12,670
word genius, the dominant force
which is creative in its effect.

308
00:26:13,390 –> 00:26:18,550
The process is not a repair job.
It’s not a course in window

309
00:26:18,550 –> 00:26:20,630
dressing.
It’s not making the best of a

310
00:26:20,630 –> 00:26:23,550
bad situation.
It’s not just a means of escape.

311
00:26:24,220 –> 00:26:28,140
Is not to enable us to endure
what cannot be cured.

312
00:26:28,580 –> 00:26:34,740
Discipleship is a new thing, a
new life based on a new

313
00:26:34,740 –> 00:26:37,660
covenant.
Old things have passed away.

314
00:26:38,700 –> 00:26:42,820
All things have become new.
Discipleship is concerned with a

315
00:26:42,820 –> 00:26:49,620
new man, created by God in
holiness and truth.

316
00:26:50,180 –> 00:26:52,820
It’s not fixing.
What’s broken?

317
00:26:52,820 –> 00:26:57,820
It is a transformation.
Now the word metamorphosis

318
00:26:57,860 –> 00:27:01,980
occurs four times in the New
Testament, twice in Matthew and

319
00:27:01,980 –> 00:27:04,460
Mark to describe the
Transfiguration.

320
00:27:04,540 –> 00:27:07,140
A change of form, remember a
change of form.

321
00:27:07,460 –> 00:27:10,420
And once in Second of
Corinthians, Chapter 3.

322
00:27:10,420 –> 00:27:13,140
So let’s go there.
Second of Corinthians and

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00:27:13,140 –> 00:27:18,300
chapter 3.
So this is really the the other

324
00:27:19,140 –> 00:27:23,140
major.
Use of the word metamorphosis in

325
00:27:23,140 –> 00:27:42,770
the New Testament,
Second of Corinthians in chapter

326
00:27:42,770 –> 00:27:47,730
3 and let’s just read verse 18.
But we all with open face

327
00:27:47,730 –> 00:27:53,730
beholding as in a glass, the
glory of the Lord are changed.

328
00:27:54,110 –> 00:27:56,910
Metamorphosis into the same
image.

329
00:27:56,990 –> 00:28:03,510
From glory to glory, even as by
the spirit of the Lord we are

330
00:28:04,110 –> 00:28:06,750
changed.
And the Greek is in the present

331
00:28:06,750 –> 00:28:09,030
continuous.
It’s an ongoing process.

332
00:28:09,030 –> 00:28:12,670
We are being changed.
What takes three to four weeks

333
00:28:12,670 –> 00:28:16,230
for a butterfly takes a lifetime
for us.

334
00:28:16,790 –> 00:28:22,030
But look at the context of this
little section in Corinthians.

335
00:28:23,000 –> 00:28:27,440
See the contrast?
Verse 14, their minds were

336
00:28:27,520 –> 00:28:35,840
blinded, but now verse 18, their
minds are completely changed.

337
00:28:36,480 –> 00:28:39,920
You know it’s exactly the same
when we come into chapter 4 and

338
00:28:39,920 –> 00:28:42,880
just read a few verses there
verses 3:00 to 7:00.

339
00:28:43,560 –> 00:28:47,680
But if that gospel be hid, it is
hid to them that are lost in

340
00:28:47,680 –> 00:28:49,680
whom?
The God of this world.

341
00:28:50,220 –> 00:28:55,300
Has blinded the minds of them
which believe not, lest the

342
00:28:55,300 –> 00:28:58,900
light of the glorious gospel of
Christ who is the image of God,

343
00:28:59,020 –> 00:29:02,260
should shine unto them.
For we preach not ourselves, but

344
00:29:02,260 –> 00:29:05,620
Christ Jesus the Lord and
ourselves, your servants.

345
00:29:05,620 –> 00:29:10,580
For Jesus sake, for God who
commanded the light to shine out

346
00:29:10,660 –> 00:29:14,820
of darkness, it’s shined in our
hearts to give the light of the

347
00:29:14,820 –> 00:29:18,860
knowledge of the glory of God in
the face of Jesus Christ.

348
00:29:20,050 –> 00:29:24,250
We have this treasure in earthen
vessels that the Excellency of

349
00:29:24,250 –> 00:29:27,810
the power may be of God and not
of us.

350
00:29:28,810 –> 00:29:37,650
So if Blinded Minds chapter 3
verse 14 equals Veiled Hearts

351
00:29:38,210 –> 00:29:44,090
chapter 3, verse 15, then
Enlightened Hearts Chapter 4,

352
00:29:44,090 –> 00:29:47,430
verse 6.
Must mean changed minds.

353
00:29:47,430 –> 00:29:50,710
It’s the light of the knowledge
of Christ that enlightens our

354
00:29:50,710 –> 00:29:53,350
minds.
And Paul is saying that is

355
00:29:53,350 –> 00:29:56,990
different as light is from
darkness, as different as

356
00:29:56,990 –> 00:30:01,430
blindness is from seeing as
different as the spiritual mind

357
00:30:01,430 –> 00:30:05,630
is from the carnal mind.
It is a complete transformation.

358
00:30:07,190 –> 00:30:10,630
And just on a personal note, Can
you imagine Paul writing?

359
00:30:11,450 –> 00:30:15,770
Chapter 4 and verse 6.
Just imagine where Paul’s mind

360
00:30:15,770 –> 00:30:19,770
might have been when he pins the
words of verse 6.

361
00:30:19,770 –> 00:30:25,290
For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, has

362
00:30:25,290 –> 00:30:29,250
shined in our hearts to give the
light of the knowledge of the

363
00:30:29,250 –> 00:30:31,410
glory of God in the face of
Jesus Christ.

364
00:30:31,410 –> 00:30:36,250
Where is his mind except it be
on the road to Damascus?

365
00:30:36,570 –> 00:30:39,450
And what he’s saying?
Is that his old way of thinking?

366
00:30:39,990 –> 00:30:46,830
His old carnal mind was as black
as the pre creation darkness.

367
00:30:47,190 –> 00:30:49,590
That’s how he viewed his old
carnal mind.

368
00:30:49,870 –> 00:30:54,230
It’s just as dark as before
Genesis one and verse one.

369
00:30:54,230 –> 00:30:58,750
Before there was light, that’s
how different he used to be.

370
00:31:00,510 –> 00:31:04,910
That’s how much he’s changed.
Now he has light and vision and

371
00:31:04,910 –> 00:31:08,430
a complete and utterly new
perspective.

372
00:31:09,390 –> 00:31:11,950
This process is ongoing C verse
16.

373
00:31:12,190 –> 00:31:15,470
For which cause we faint not.
But though our outward man

374
00:31:15,470 –> 00:31:19,710
perished, yet the inward man is
renewed day by day.

375
00:31:19,990 –> 00:31:22,630
It’s going on every day.
It’s a miracle.

376
00:31:22,990 –> 00:31:26,190
It was a miracle to Paul, it’s a
miracle to us.

377
00:31:26,630 –> 00:31:31,830
It’s a day by day proposition.
Isaiah 28 and verse 10 puts it,

378
00:31:31,870 –> 00:31:38,310
albeit satirically, precept upon
precept, line upon line here a

379
00:31:38,310 –> 00:31:40,510
little.
Very little.

380
00:31:40,990 –> 00:31:46,390
One day at a time.
We are imperceptibly changed.

381
00:31:48,190 –> 00:31:53,750
So how does it happen?
Well, I think there’s a clue in

382
00:31:54,830 –> 00:31:57,750
what is probably the most well
known quotation in the

383
00:31:57,750 –> 00:32:01,270
Brotherhood about the mind, so
we want to look at that now.

384
00:32:01,750 –> 00:32:05,950
It’s this quotation by Brother
John Carter from the Leader to

385
00:32:05,950 –> 00:32:13,040
the Ephesians, page 133.
The mind is insensibly affected

386
00:32:13,960 –> 00:32:16,400
by the stream of thought passing
through it.

387
00:32:17,000 –> 00:32:22,040
It is desirable, therefore, to
have that stream as pure as

388
00:32:22,160 –> 00:32:26,040
possible.
That’s really saying what

389
00:32:26,040 –> 00:32:28,960
Proverbs Chapter 23 and verse 7
says.

390
00:32:29,360 –> 00:32:35,400
For just as he had thought in
his own mind, so he is, and

391
00:32:35,400 –> 00:32:39,660
minds are insensibly.
Affected.

392
00:32:39,660 –> 00:32:46,620
Whether we know it or not,
whether we like it or not,

393
00:32:47,620 –> 00:32:54,180
whether we want it to or not,
our minds are unconsciously, as

394
00:32:54,180 –> 00:32:58,460
that word insensibly means,
unconsciously, affected.

395
00:32:59,380 –> 00:33:03,420
Now I want to share with you
when I first read this quotation

396
00:33:03,540 –> 00:33:05,820
years and years ago when I was a
teenager.

397
00:33:07,500 –> 00:33:09,740
I always used to think that this
was a curse.

398
00:33:11,860 –> 00:33:14,740
We have all brothers and sisters
looked at.

399
00:33:15,740 –> 00:33:20,060
We have all heard.
We have all said.

400
00:33:21,500 –> 00:33:25,900
We’ve all done.
We’ve all thought things we

401
00:33:25,900 –> 00:33:29,700
would desperately wish to undo
if we could.

402
00:33:31,460 –> 00:33:36,140
And we are the witness, aren’t
we, that our minds are.

403
00:33:36,620 –> 00:33:40,300
Insensibly affected by those
things, they become a part of

404
00:33:40,300 –> 00:33:44,820
who we are.
And it is a curse I used to

405
00:33:44,820 –> 00:33:47,860
think.
But you know what?

406
00:33:48,940 –> 00:33:55,220
Now I see this principle is one
of the greatest blessings that

407
00:33:55,220 –> 00:33:57,820
our Heavenly Father has given
each one of us.

408
00:33:58,180 –> 00:34:02,700
Because if our minds are
insensibly affected by evil,

409
00:34:03,100 –> 00:34:11,030
whether we like it or not.
Then they are equally insensibly

410
00:34:11,030 –> 00:34:15,030
affected by good.
Now that brothers and sisters

411
00:34:15,110 –> 00:34:20,190
and young people is an immense
comfort to know that we can

412
00:34:20,190 –> 00:34:26,230
renew, we can rewrite our minds.
That if we do the right things

413
00:34:26,830 –> 00:34:30,949
then the change to our mind is
inevitable, we will be

414
00:34:31,070 –> 00:34:37,909
insensibly affected.
That’s that’s amazing.

415
00:34:38,790 –> 00:34:43,230
I don’t know about you, but I’m
very, very grateful for that

416
00:34:43,230 –> 00:34:45,150
now.
Whereas before I used to read

417
00:34:45,150 –> 00:34:48,790
that and feel terrible about the
things that I should never have

418
00:34:48,790 –> 00:34:54,030
looked at or said or done.
And not to say that we shouldn’t

419
00:34:54,030 –> 00:34:57,550
feel that way, but how grateful
ought we to be that our minds

420
00:34:57,550 –> 00:35:01,070
can also be insensibly affected
for good?

421
00:35:02,310 –> 00:35:04,230
Here’s how it happens.
I want to just use a little

422
00:35:04,230 –> 00:35:06,950
analogy to explain how this
works.

423
00:35:07,070 –> 00:35:10,190
We just read, didn’t we, in
chapter 4, verse seven, that we

424
00:35:10,190 –> 00:35:12,750
have this treasure in earthen
vessels.

425
00:35:13,550 –> 00:35:18,190
And I want you to imagine that
our minds are really like a

426
00:35:18,190 –> 00:35:26,270
leaky container into which ideas
are dropped like drops of ink

427
00:35:26,910 –> 00:35:30,640
when we start out in life.
Our mind is like an empty an

428
00:35:30,640 –> 00:35:34,600
empty canvas, if you will.
But as we go through life, it’s

429
00:35:34,600 –> 00:35:40,240
not long, is it, before we start
dropping in drops of sinful

430
00:35:40,240 –> 00:35:42,560
thoughts.
And this is what happens to our

431
00:35:42,560 –> 00:35:46,920
minds.
Imagine if that was the end

432
00:35:46,920 –> 00:35:49,720
product.
But it’s not.

433
00:35:50,640 –> 00:35:54,680
Our minds actually look like
this.

434
00:35:56,280 –> 00:36:00,660
We are leaky.
Earthen vessels And out of all

435
00:36:00,660 –> 00:36:04,860
of these holes in our head, our
mind and memories are faulty.

436
00:36:05,100 –> 00:36:11,780
Flow gradually the things that
we’ve put in now it says this in

437
00:36:11,780 –> 00:36:15,140
Psalm 31 I am forgotten as a
dead man out of mind.

438
00:36:15,300 –> 00:36:18,700
I am a broken vessel.
In the margin says a vessel that

439
00:36:18,700 –> 00:36:21,300
perishes.
I’m not 100% sure that what he

440
00:36:21,300 –> 00:36:24,420
means is that it’s a leaky
vessel, but it gives us the

441
00:36:24,420 –> 00:36:27,820
idea, doesn’t it?
This is our minds.

442
00:36:28,450 –> 00:36:31,130
And what happens is things leak
out.

443
00:36:31,530 –> 00:36:35,010
We forget.
And now what happens is if we

444
00:36:35,010 –> 00:36:41,210
start pouring in the good things
of the word, we start thinking

445
00:36:41,370 –> 00:36:44,530
differently.
We pour in a different colored

446
00:36:44,530 –> 00:36:46,970
ink.
We suddenly see that this is

447
00:36:46,970 –> 00:36:51,090
what happens.
Our minds are slowly being

448
00:36:51,090 –> 00:36:55,040
transformed.
And it’s true, isn’t it, that if

449
00:36:55,120 –> 00:36:59,720
the bad thoughts are capable of
leaking out, then the good

450
00:36:59,720 –> 00:37:04,120
thoughts are equally as capable
as leak of leaking out.

451
00:37:04,440 –> 00:37:09,280
But if all we keep doing is
dropping in the blue ink, our

452
00:37:09,280 –> 00:37:16,440
minds will gradually with time
become more and more spiritual.

453
00:37:16,440 –> 00:37:20,000
It’s just an analogy.
It’s just a diagram, but

454
00:37:20,000 –> 00:37:24,600
hopefully by seeing this we can
understand how metamorphosis

455
00:37:24,600 –> 00:37:27,000
happens in our minds.
Do you know, I used to think

456
00:37:27,760 –> 00:37:31,280
that having a photographic
memory would be so amazing for

457
00:37:31,280 –> 00:37:37,040
Bible study, and I used to be
very envious, by the way, kind

458
00:37:37,040 –> 00:37:40,280
of mind of people who did have a
photographic memory.

459
00:37:42,080 –> 00:37:46,520
That was before I realized how
awful it would be.

460
00:37:47,720 –> 00:37:54,320
To have a photographic memory
for the rest of my life, not

461
00:37:54,320 –> 00:37:57,240
just Bible study.
Well, how terrible it would be

462
00:37:57,240 –> 00:38:00,160
to have a photographic memory
for all the things I desperately

463
00:38:00,160 –> 00:38:04,280
wanted to forget but couldn’t.
And our Heavenly Father knows

464
00:38:04,280 –> 00:38:07,600
our frame.
We are fearfully and wonderfully

465
00:38:07,600 –> 00:38:10,800
made, and our faulty memories,
brothers and sisters, are

466
00:38:10,920 –> 00:38:15,520
actually his mercy and his
compassion and his love.

467
00:38:15,950 –> 00:38:19,790
This enables renewal.
Yes, we have to keep pouring in

468
00:38:19,790 –> 00:38:23,870
the blue ink at the top, but
that’s how we are changed.

469
00:38:23,870 –> 00:38:25,990
Do you know?
Scientists call this

470
00:38:26,270 –> 00:38:32,790
neuroplasticity, the ability to
forget and to form new neural

471
00:38:32,790 –> 00:38:39,390
pathways to change the way we
think, change the way we think

472
00:38:40,510 –> 00:38:44,510
so.
So what do the Scriptures have

473
00:38:44,510 –> 00:38:47,670
to say about this renewal and
how this renewal happens?

474
00:38:47,910 –> 00:38:51,630
Scientists have no idea how it
happens to caterpillars, but

475
00:38:51,630 –> 00:38:54,190
what do the Scriptures have to
say about what happens in our

476
00:38:54,190 –> 00:38:57,750
minds?
Well, the Greek word for

477
00:38:57,750 –> 00:39:01,270
renewing that we have here in
Second of Corinthians, chapter 4

478
00:39:01,350 –> 00:39:06,590
and verse 16, occurs four times
in the New Testament.

479
00:39:06,750 –> 00:39:09,110
Once is in Romans 12.
We’ve already been there.

480
00:39:09,670 –> 00:39:11,750
Once is here in 2nd Corinthians
4.

481
00:39:12,380 –> 00:39:15,700
Once is in Colossians, we’ll go
there in a moment, and the other

482
00:39:15,700 –> 00:39:20,100
time is in Titus chapter 3, and
I’d like you to come to Titus

483
00:39:20,100 –> 00:39:22,900
chapter 3.
How does this happen?

484
00:39:24,220 –> 00:39:42,050
How are our minds renewed?
Titus chapter 3?

485
00:39:42,050 –> 00:39:44,570
And let’s just read a few
verses, verses 3:00 to 7:00.

486
00:39:45,080 –> 00:39:52,720
For we ourselves also were
sometimes foolish, disobedient,

487
00:39:52,880 –> 00:39:57,600
deceived, serving divers, lusts
and pleasures, living in malice

488
00:39:57,600 –> 00:39:59,960
and envy, hateful, hating one
another.

489
00:39:59,960 –> 00:40:04,640
This is the carnal mind.
But after that the kindness and

490
00:40:04,640 –> 00:40:09,200
love of God, our Savior toward
man, appeared not by works of

491
00:40:09,200 –> 00:40:11,320
righteousness, which we have
done.

492
00:40:12,310 –> 00:40:17,110
According to His mercy, He saved
us by the washing of

493
00:40:17,110 –> 00:40:24,030
regeneration and renewing of the
Holy Spirit, which He shed on us

494
00:40:24,030 –> 00:40:26,630
abundantly through Jesus Christ
our Savior.

495
00:40:26,910 –> 00:40:31,230
That being justified by His
grace, we should be made ears

496
00:40:31,230 –> 00:40:33,990
according to the hope of eternal
life.

497
00:40:34,590 –> 00:40:39,190
See the complete transformation.
From foolish, disobedient, and

498
00:40:39,190 –> 00:40:44,150
deceived verse 3 to justified
ears of eternal life, verse 7 by

499
00:40:44,150 –> 00:40:49,070
the renewing of the Holy Spirit,
now we know that the process of

500
00:40:49,070 –> 00:40:51,590
metamorphosis in our minds is a
miracle.

501
00:40:51,590 –> 00:40:54,230
We can’t understand it or
explain it.

502
00:40:54,390 –> 00:40:56,310
We’re changed in the way we
think.

503
00:40:57,630 –> 00:41:02,270
But is this power of the Holy
Spirit some well, some

504
00:41:02,270 –> 00:41:10,840
miraculous mysterious?
Operation of the Holy Spirit on

505
00:41:10,840 –> 00:41:17,880
our minds renewed by the Holy
Spirit, a mysterious,

506
00:41:18,360 –> 00:41:23,280
unexplainable indwelling of
God’s Spirit in our minds.

507
00:41:25,400 –> 00:41:34,200
And the answer is absolutely
yes, absolutely yes.

508
00:41:35,310 –> 00:41:42,630
But the means The method that
God uses is not mysterious or

509
00:41:42,630 –> 00:41:48,750
miraculous at all.
The effect is miraculous, but

510
00:41:48,750 –> 00:41:52,270
the method is not.
It’s the same method that

511
00:41:52,270 –> 00:41:59,150
caterpillars use.
We have to eat, eat, eat.

512
00:41:59,580 –> 00:42:06,300
We are transformed miraculously
by simply and steadily digesting

513
00:42:06,300 –> 00:42:08,420
the Holy Spirit Word, the Word
of God.

514
00:42:08,420 –> 00:42:10,340
It might be a miracle how it
happens.

515
00:42:10,540 –> 00:42:13,740
How our minds are changed into
the mind of Christ might be

516
00:42:13,740 –> 00:42:16,660
mysterious, we might never
understand it, but there is

517
00:42:16,660 –> 00:42:19,900
nothing in the world that’s
magical.

518
00:42:20,670 –> 00:42:24,710
Nothing supernatural, nothing
mystical, happening by smoke and

519
00:42:24,710 –> 00:42:26,990
mirrors.
It’s not our father magically

520
00:42:27,030 –> 00:42:29,390
altering our thinking against
their free will.

521
00:42:29,590 –> 00:42:34,830
It’s as simple as eating the
word of God, and the change is

522
00:42:35,150 –> 00:42:39,030
inevitable.
We are insensibly affected.

523
00:42:39,790 –> 00:42:44,270
We are conformed inevitably to a
family likeness.

524
00:42:44,630 –> 00:42:48,950
Now just look how these three
phrases in Titus chapter three

525
00:42:48,950 –> 00:42:53,400
are used.
By the washing of regeneration

526
00:42:53,400 –> 00:42:59,080
and renewing of the Holy Spirit.
This is not a magical spirit

527
00:42:59,160 –> 00:43:03,400
indwelling experience where we
are once saved, always saved.

528
00:43:03,680 –> 00:43:08,080
It’s the inevitable result of
digesting his spirit word.

529
00:43:09,000 –> 00:43:11,720
How about the word washing?
Do you know that word washing?

530
00:43:13,080 –> 00:43:17,880
Only occurs twice, and the other
time is in Ephesians chapter 5.

531
00:43:17,880 –> 00:43:22,240
Husbands, love your wives.
Even as Christ also loved the

532
00:43:22,240 –> 00:43:26,600
Ecclesia and gave himself for
it, that he might sanctify and

533
00:43:26,600 –> 00:43:31,680
cleanse it with the washing of
water by the word.

534
00:43:32,640 –> 00:43:36,600
So how does washing come about
by the word of God.

535
00:43:36,600 –> 00:43:40,240
That’s the only two places that
that word is used in the entire

536
00:43:40,240 –> 00:43:43,040
New Testament.
What about regeneration?

537
00:43:43,280 –> 00:43:47,320
It’s the Greek word, new birth.
This is what Peter says in first

538
00:43:47,320 –> 00:43:49,640
of Peter.
One which according to his

539
00:43:49,640 –> 00:43:53,920
abundant mercy, hath begotten us
again, being born again.

540
00:43:53,920 –> 00:43:57,680
A new birth, not of corruptible
seed, not of, but of

541
00:43:57,680 –> 00:44:03,080
incorruptible by the word of
God.

542
00:44:04,900 –> 00:44:06,780
And what about this word
renewing?

543
00:44:06,900 –> 00:44:10,700
It’s used four times, as we’ve
seen, and the last one, which we

544
00:44:10,700 –> 00:44:14,060
haven’t been to yet, says in
Colossians 3 and have put on the

545
00:44:14,060 –> 00:44:17,780
Newman, which is renewed in
knowledge.

546
00:44:18,860 –> 00:44:22,700
This is not a mysterious
mystical spirit, power that

547
00:44:22,780 –> 00:44:26,060
enters our broad bodies and
brains and changes us against

548
00:44:26,060 –> 00:44:30,380
our will.
This is the inevitable result of

549
00:44:30,380 –> 00:44:34,880
absorbing.
The Holy Spirit word, Holy

550
00:44:34,880 –> 00:44:38,720
Spirit Renewal is from the
Spirit word of God.

551
00:44:38,720 –> 00:44:42,320
My words are Spirit and they are
life.

552
00:44:43,920 –> 00:44:47,640
Everywhere this these ideas are
used consistently.

553
00:44:47,920 –> 00:44:50,720
We have the same consistent
answer.

554
00:44:50,720 –> 00:44:54,640
Renewing comes from absorbing
divine ideas and divine

555
00:44:54,640 –> 00:44:58,560
principles.
By reading we are slowly changed

556
00:44:58,560 –> 00:45:01,590
by its influence.
We go from caterpillars crawling

557
00:45:01,590 –> 00:45:05,350
around bound to the earth,
earthly things, to butterfly

558
00:45:05,350 –> 00:45:08,790
soaring in the heavens with
Christ and all we need to do

559
00:45:08,790 –> 00:45:12,990
brothers and sisters, Young
people is just keep eating.

560
00:45:13,790 –> 00:45:17,750
Maybe not 30,000 times their own
weight, but you get the idea.

561
00:45:17,990 –> 00:45:22,270
That’s to to illustrate the
principle, eat voraciously.

562
00:45:23,240 –> 00:45:27,480
Consume the word of God and we
will be changed.

563
00:45:27,680 –> 00:45:31,360
Trust God that a remarkable
transformation, the renewing of

564
00:45:31,360 –> 00:45:34,960
our minds, will occur.
We’ll come to Colossians in

565
00:45:34,960 –> 00:45:38,280
chapter 3.
This is the last of the four

566
00:45:38,280 –> 00:45:42,280
times that the word renewing
occurs in the New Testament.

567
00:45:43,920 –> 00:45:49,360
Colossians chapter 3 and verse
one If ye then be risen with

568
00:45:49,360 –> 00:45:52,570
Christ.
Seek those things which are

569
00:45:52,570 –> 00:45:56,210
above where Christ sitteth on
the right hand of God.

570
00:45:57,290 –> 00:46:02,330
Set your affections on things
above, not on things on the

571
00:46:02,370 –> 00:46:03,850
earth.
These are lovely words.

572
00:46:04,250 –> 00:46:09,210
You know the word seek way Mouth
translates that word seek as

573
00:46:09,210 –> 00:46:12,250
Give your minds, give your
minds.

574
00:46:12,690 –> 00:46:16,330
And the word affections you’ll
see in the margin is the word

575
00:46:16,330 –> 00:46:21,210
minds so.
He’s saying it’s all about our

576
00:46:21,210 –> 00:46:24,410
minds.
Give your minds to those things

577
00:46:24,410 –> 00:46:27,730
which are above.
Set your minds on things above.

578
00:46:27,970 –> 00:46:32,610
Paul’s instructions are clear.
We’ve got to identify with Jesus

579
00:46:32,610 –> 00:46:37,890
Christ in all aspects of His
sacrifice and victory.

580
00:46:38,890 –> 00:46:43,170
If we share Christ’s death when
we were buried with Him in

581
00:46:43,170 –> 00:46:48,050
Baptism chapter 2, verse 12, and
we share Christ’s resurrection

582
00:46:48,050 –> 00:46:52,310
when we arisen with Him.
Chapter 3 Verse One Then we

583
00:46:52,350 –> 00:46:56,750
ought also to share his
ascension to the right hand of

584
00:46:56,750 –> 00:47:02,030
God by setting our minds, giving
our minds to heavenly things.

585
00:47:03,070 –> 00:47:06,870
If we go from being the
caterpillars of this world bound

586
00:47:06,870 –> 00:47:11,030
to the earth, or as Paul says
and Philippians who mind earthly

587
00:47:11,030 –> 00:47:14,790
things and we want to be
transformed into butterflies, we

588
00:47:14,790 –> 00:47:17,590
need to mind heavenly things.
Practice.

589
00:47:18,060 –> 00:47:21,140
Not occupying your minds on
things above, Paul says.

590
00:47:21,500 –> 00:47:25,220
And he says when we do that we
complete the victory of Jesus

591
00:47:25,220 –> 00:47:28,900
Christ.
We share in the ascension of

592
00:47:28,900 –> 00:47:31,100
Jesus Christ into the heavens
above.

593
00:47:31,100 –> 00:47:33,820
What an argument.
What an argument for the

594
00:47:33,820 –> 00:47:38,980
metamorphosis of our minds.
If baptism is partaking in the

595
00:47:38,980 –> 00:47:42,500
death and resurrection of
Christ, then the renewing of our

596
00:47:42,500 –> 00:47:46,100
minds is us sharing in His
ascension.

597
00:47:46,740 –> 00:47:49,380
Into the heavenly places.
It’s the same power, isn’t it,

598
00:47:49,580 –> 00:47:53,100
that raised Christ from the dead
and elevated him into heaven,

599
00:47:53,100 –> 00:47:57,260
That is slowly resurrecting our
minds from the dust.

600
00:47:58,300 –> 00:48:02,660
And Paul is going to go on to
say in verses 9 and 10, lie not

601
00:48:02,660 –> 00:48:05,700
one to another, seeing that you
have put off the old man with

602
00:48:05,700 –> 00:48:10,260
his deeds and have put on the
new man which is renewed in

603
00:48:10,260 –> 00:48:15,860
knowledge after the image of him
that created him.

604
00:48:16,570 –> 00:48:20,210
It’s an ongoing process of
putting off and putting on.

605
00:48:20,810 –> 00:48:23,890
Yes, we do this as we see it
constitutionally when we’re

606
00:48:23,890 –> 00:48:26,930
baptized.
But this is the regeneration by

607
00:48:26,930 –> 00:48:31,450
constant washing, the renewal
day by day after the image of

608
00:48:31,610 –> 00:48:34,250
him who created him.
It’s a miracle.

609
00:48:35,050 –> 00:48:40,290
And notice by knowledge, by
reading the word, we conformed

610
00:48:40,730 –> 00:48:44,210
to his image, to the image of
Christ, so.

611
00:48:44,980 –> 00:48:46,900
Because we’re new creatures in
him.

612
00:48:49,740 –> 00:48:52,340
All right, so how does reading
change us?

613
00:48:53,540 –> 00:48:57,620
We say to ourselves.
All right, so we, our minds are

614
00:48:57,620 –> 00:48:59,980
going to change because we
voraciously read.

615
00:48:59,980 –> 00:49:04,140
Well, how will that change us?
Well, just a thought.

616
00:49:06,140 –> 00:49:08,420
We have what’s called our
consciousness.

617
00:49:11,190 –> 00:49:15,350
And our consciousness is going
to affect our conduct.

618
00:49:16,590 –> 00:49:20,270
We can’t do things without first
being conscious of what’s going

619
00:49:20,270 –> 00:49:24,790
on around us.
And our conduct ultimately, is

620
00:49:24,790 –> 00:49:30,470
going to affect our character.
Consciousness leads to conduct

621
00:49:30,670 –> 00:49:33,390
and conduct to character.
Now we know what character we’re

622
00:49:33,390 –> 00:49:36,910
seeking.
A family likeness, The mind of

623
00:49:36,910 –> 00:49:39,230
Christ.
This is where we’re all heading.

624
00:49:39,810 –> 00:49:44,730
And we know, don’t we, that this
is where in the in the lives of

625
00:49:44,730 –> 00:49:49,170
the Saints, the angels and the
work of Providence is able to

626
00:49:49,170 –> 00:49:53,370
act.
It’s able to intervene, if you

627
00:49:53,370 –> 00:49:57,970
like, in the our experiences to
change who we are.

628
00:49:58,690 –> 00:50:00,650
So what’s reading we’re just
reading fit in.

629
00:50:00,650 –> 00:50:04,250
Well, he’s reading here.
It’s our part.

630
00:50:05,050 –> 00:50:09,040
This is the work of the angels.
To conform us to the mind of

631
00:50:09,040 –> 00:50:13,200
Christ.
But we firstly need to be able

632
00:50:13,200 –> 00:50:16,520
to read, because reading alters
our consciousness.

633
00:50:16,920 –> 00:50:19,680
It gives the angels something to
work with in their minds.

634
00:50:20,120 –> 00:50:21,640
It gives them something to work
on.

635
00:50:22,440 –> 00:50:26,440
This is what Paul means when he
says the renewing of our minds.

636
00:50:27,000 –> 00:50:31,040
We can’t expect a Damascus Rd.
experience to dramatically alter

637
00:50:31,040 –> 00:50:34,880
our lives without reading.
It doesn’t happen.

638
00:50:35,780 –> 00:50:39,220
It’s a combination of both that
changes us.

639
00:50:39,580 –> 00:50:42,740
We’re in partnership with our
Heavenly Father now.

640
00:50:42,740 –> 00:50:46,580
Sometimes experience can teach
us a great deal, but it can

641
00:50:46,580 –> 00:50:51,980
teach us a great deal more if
our minds are being exercised in

642
00:50:51,980 –> 00:50:57,100
spiritual things.
If we read, then the angels have

643
00:50:57,100 –> 00:51:00,140
something to work with in our
minds.

644
00:51:01,460 –> 00:51:06,020
Come to Ephesians Chapter 4.
Just back a few pages.

645
00:51:11,760 –> 00:51:14,640
We’ve been here before, but
let’s just read these words

646
00:51:14,680 –> 00:51:20,960
again.
See the transformation, verse

647
00:51:20,960 –> 00:51:23,360
17.
This I say therefore, and

648
00:51:23,360 –> 00:51:27,600
testify in the Lord that ye
henceforth walk not as other

649
00:51:27,600 –> 00:51:31,200
Gentiles walk in the vanity of
their mind, having the

650
00:51:31,200 –> 00:51:35,240
understanding darkened, being
alienated from the life of God

651
00:51:35,240 –> 00:51:36,720
through the ignorance that is in
them.

652
00:51:37,200 –> 00:51:40,240
Because of the blindness of
their heart, who being past

653
00:51:40,240 –> 00:51:44,880
feeling, have given themselves
over unto lasciviousness to work

654
00:51:45,000 –> 00:51:52,520
all uncleanness with greediness,
But we have not so learned

655
00:51:52,520 –> 00:51:57,480
Christ, if so be that ye have
heard him, and have been taught

656
00:51:57,480 –> 00:52:01,560
by him, as the truth is in
Jesus, that ye put off

657
00:52:01,560 –> 00:52:04,800
concerning the former
conversation, the old man which

658
00:52:04,800 –> 00:52:07,810
is corrupt.
According to the deceitful Luss,

659
00:52:08,170 –> 00:52:12,450
and be renewed in the spirit of
your mind that you put on the

660
00:52:12,450 –> 00:52:17,290
new man, which after God is
created in righteousness and

661
00:52:17,290 –> 00:52:20,130
true holiness.
It’s the same story, isn’t it?

662
00:52:20,250 –> 00:52:24,330
The old man, the carnal mind has
got to be put off and the new

663
00:52:24,330 –> 00:52:29,490
man put on by a process, the
renewing of our minds.

664
00:52:30,730 –> 00:52:34,010
Do you know verse 15 calls that
process?

665
00:52:35,570 –> 00:52:39,890
Growing up, it’s not going to
happen quickly, is it?

666
00:52:39,890 –> 00:52:43,450
Brothers and sisters, I don’t
think it ever ends, unless maybe

667
00:52:43,450 –> 00:52:45,690
you feel like you’ve grown up
into Christ.

668
00:52:47,610 –> 00:52:51,290
It’s an ongoing journey for the
rest of our lives.

669
00:52:52,770 –> 00:52:56,530
This is how JB Phillips
translates a few verses, these

670
00:52:56,530 –> 00:52:58,490
few verses.
And Ephesians, just read this

671
00:52:58,490 –> 00:53:03,010
with me, see if you can see how.
Slightly different language

672
00:53:03,010 –> 00:53:05,530
gives us a sense of what Paul’s
trying to say.

673
00:53:06,690 –> 00:53:09,810
But you have learned nothing
like that from Christ.

674
00:53:09,850 –> 00:53:13,170
If you have really heard His
voice and understood the truth

675
00:53:13,170 –> 00:53:14,650
that he has taught you.
No.

676
00:53:15,010 –> 00:53:19,410
What you learned was to fling
off The Dirty clothes of the old

677
00:53:19,410 –> 00:53:22,570
way of living, which were rotted
through and through with lusts,

678
00:53:22,570 –> 00:53:30,450
illusions, and with yourselves
mentally and spiritually remade.

679
00:53:31,080 –> 00:53:34,680
To put on the clean, fresh
clothes of the new life which

680
00:53:34,680 –> 00:53:39,200
was made by God’s design for
righteousness and the holiness

681
00:53:39,360 –> 00:53:44,280
which is no illusion, we’re
remade, reconstituted.

682
00:53:44,760 –> 00:53:50,800
It’s a miracle happening in our
minds, a new creation created in

683
00:53:50,800 –> 00:53:54,360
righteousness.
What I comfort, brothers and

684
00:53:54,360 –> 00:53:58,920
sisters, to think is we’ve
remembered this day that if we

685
00:53:58,920 –> 00:54:03,840
were to graph our lives.
And bodies kind of look like

686
00:54:03,840 –> 00:54:07,680
this in terms of performance.
It doesn’t take very long.

687
00:54:07,680 –> 00:54:11,880
Maybe by the time we’re 18 or 19
or 20, we’re almost at the peak

688
00:54:11,880 –> 00:54:14,480
of our powers.
And for the rest of our lives,

689
00:54:15,520 –> 00:54:20,800
it’s a downhill slide.
But think about our minds.

690
00:54:21,960 –> 00:54:25,240
Think about our minds on this
same graph.

691
00:54:26,560 –> 00:54:30,010
It looks kind of like this.
This is kind of where Judah

692
00:54:30,010 –> 00:54:34,050
Martin is right now, about
teenage years.

693
00:54:34,610 –> 00:54:37,250
Our brains switched off for a
little while, but apart from

694
00:54:37,250 –> 00:54:40,650
that you can see the trend.
It’s going all the way up.

695
00:54:40,890 –> 00:54:44,330
What a comfort to know that is
everything else is getting

696
00:54:44,330 –> 00:54:50,490
worse.
We can be renewed, remade in our

697
00:54:50,490 –> 00:54:54,490
minds.
This is what brother Dennis

698
00:54:54,610 –> 00:54:57,930
Gillett has to say in his book
Diseases of the Soul.

699
00:54:58,980 –> 00:55:03,380
The truth is not just an
arrangement whereby men who

700
00:55:03,380 –> 00:55:09,580
ought to die can escape.
It is a superlative declaration

701
00:55:09,580 –> 00:55:16,380
that ruined men can be remade at
the spiritual center of their

702
00:55:16,380 –> 00:55:22,420
life, now and hereafter, not
just deliverance from a penalty,

703
00:55:22,820 –> 00:55:26,660
but the revelation of divine
righteousness at the disposal of

704
00:55:26,660 –> 00:55:29,640
man.
Not just amelioration, but

705
00:55:29,840 –> 00:55:34,280
altogether renewal.
Salvation is not only

706
00:55:34,280 –> 00:55:37,800
deliverance from death, not only
forgiveness of sin.

707
00:55:38,360 –> 00:55:43,720
At last it is the power to do
right to master the antagonistic

708
00:55:43,720 –> 00:55:46,400
forces of heredity and
environment.

709
00:55:46,920 –> 00:55:50,480
The enfeebled will is empowered,
the paralysis is healed.

710
00:55:50,680 –> 00:55:53,280
The bound soul is set at
liberty.

711
00:55:53,400 –> 00:55:55,240
What an amazing thing, brothers
and sisters.

712
00:55:55,240 –> 00:55:58,430
What a hope.
What a healing from this hideous

713
00:55:58,430 –> 00:56:01,990
deformity as Brother Thomas
describes the carnal mind.

714
00:56:02,950 –> 00:56:07,230
Deliverance, forgiveness, the
power to do right.

715
00:56:07,390 –> 00:56:10,230
This is what we all long for.
Liberty.

716
00:56:10,790 –> 00:56:14,470
Freedom in Christ.
A complete and comprehensive

717
00:56:14,790 –> 00:56:19,950
answer to the carnal mind.
Every hideous part replaced.

718
00:56:20,350 –> 00:56:22,390
Who wouldn’t want this, brothers
and sisters?

719
00:56:22,950 –> 00:56:26,290
Who of us?
When we honestly look inside,

720
00:56:26,290 –> 00:56:30,810
our hearts and minds wouldn’t
want to be remade at the

721
00:56:30,810 –> 00:56:36,610
spiritual center of our life.
What would people pay for that?

722
00:56:39,210 –> 00:56:46,530
It’s not for sale, can’t be
bought, can only be received as

723
00:56:46,530 –> 00:56:51,250
a gift.
But you know there is a catch.

724
00:56:52,610 –> 00:56:57,380
Because.
Whilst it’s a free gift and it’s

725
00:56:57,580 –> 00:57:02,820
freely given, to delude
ourselves, brothers and sisters

726
00:57:02,820 –> 00:57:07,900
into thinking that there are no
conditions would be absolute

727
00:57:07,900 –> 00:57:10,700
foolishness, there is a
condition.

728
00:57:10,700 –> 00:57:13,940
There is one essential thing
that we must have for this

729
00:57:13,940 –> 00:57:16,420
astonishing renewal to take
place.

730
00:57:18,420 –> 00:57:22,060
I was going to go to Psalm 51,
but we don’t really have time.

731
00:57:22,930 –> 00:57:27,890
But if we want renewal, you’ll
remember Psalm 51, the change

732
00:57:27,890 –> 00:57:30,290
that comes over David from his
great sin.

733
00:57:30,610 –> 00:57:35,370
If we want metamorphosis, if we
want transformation, Psalm 51

734
00:57:35,370 –> 00:57:40,890
and verse 12 says in the English
Standard version, uphold me with

735
00:57:41,050 –> 00:57:44,890
a willing spirit.
All we have to be brothers and

736
00:57:44,890 –> 00:57:48,370
sisters is have a willing and
ready mind.

737
00:57:49,010 –> 00:57:53,550
First of Chronicles 28, Solomon.
Serve him with a willing mind.

738
00:57:53,990 –> 00:57:56,190
The Bereans with all readiness
of mind.

739
00:57:56,270 –> 00:57:58,830
What did they do?
They searched the scriptures

740
00:57:58,830 –> 00:58:03,830
daily and 2nd of Corinthians 8.
If they be first a willing mind.

741
00:58:03,830 –> 00:58:07,870
This is God’s promise.
His will for us is an amazing

742
00:58:07,870 –> 00:58:12,230
transformation.
He’s offered for us to leave

743
00:58:12,230 –> 00:58:17,270
these Caterpillar suits behind
and to soar into heavenly places

744
00:58:17,750 –> 00:58:20,750
to have our minds miraculously
changed over time.

745
00:58:21,100 –> 00:58:24,340
Slowly but surely, to be like
our Lords.

746
00:58:24,340 –> 00:58:29,620
It’s a miracle, and all he asks
us to do is keep eating, keep

747
00:58:29,620 –> 00:58:33,540
eating, keep eating and be
willing, willing to watch a

748
00:58:33,540 –> 00:58:36,980
miracle happen in our lives and
in our minds.

749
00:58:38,460 –> 00:58:41,620
I just want to detour back to
the Gospels for a couple of

750
00:58:41,620 –> 00:58:44,940
minutes because I said we’d do
that for each of our sessions.

751
00:58:44,940 –> 00:58:53,600
And let’s go to John Chapter 6.
Just a few more minutes,

752
00:58:53,840 –> 00:58:56,400
brothers and sisters, and we’ll
be done.

753
00:58:58,960 –> 00:59:02,600
Let’s see the wonderful process
of this at work in the lives of

754
00:59:02,600 –> 00:59:05,000
the disciples, the renewing of
their minds.

755
00:59:06,280 –> 00:59:10,680
John chapter 6 and verse 16.
And when even was now come, his

756
00:59:10,680 –> 00:59:14,200
disciples went down into the sea
and entered into a ship and went

757
00:59:14,200 –> 00:59:17,640
over the sea toward Copernium,
and it was now dark.

758
00:59:17,900 –> 00:59:19,780
And Jesus was not come unto
them.

759
00:59:20,620 –> 00:59:24,540
And the sea arose by reason of a
great wind that blew.

760
00:59:24,540 –> 00:59:29,100
And when they had rode about 5
and 20 or 30 furlongs, they see

761
00:59:29,100 –> 00:59:32,940
Jesus walking on the sea, and
drawing nigh unto the ship.

762
00:59:32,940 –> 00:59:36,500
And they were afraid.
And he saith unto them at his

763
00:59:36,500 –> 00:59:40,060
eye, be not afraid.
Then they willingly received him

764
00:59:40,060 –> 00:59:44,300
into the ship, and immediately
the ship was at the land whither

765
00:59:44,300 –> 00:59:49,100
they went.
In this parable, the parable of

766
00:59:49,100 –> 00:59:53,900
this story, Christ was on a high
mountain in heaven, watching

767
00:59:53,900 –> 00:59:57,860
them toil on the chaotic waves
of life waiting for his return.

768
00:59:58,580 –> 01:00:02,180
Their experience is a picture of
the carnal mind, doubtful,

769
01:00:02,580 –> 01:00:08,180
anxious, afraid, alone,
desperate, vainly rowing by

770
01:00:08,180 –> 01:00:10,860
their own strength and getting
nowhere.

771
01:00:11,100 –> 01:00:14,820
It’s our lives, brothers and
sisters, without Christ, wave

772
01:00:14,860 –> 01:00:18,910
after wave of trouble.
Almost overwhelmed.

773
01:00:19,150 –> 01:00:25,030
And then he comes and Mark
chapter 6 verse 48 says he would

774
01:00:25,030 –> 01:00:29,910
have passed them by.
He would have passed them by.

775
01:00:29,910 –> 01:00:33,590
See the point?
Salvation and renewal is never

776
01:00:33,590 –> 01:00:38,510
forced.
We have to willingly receive him

777
01:00:38,990 –> 01:00:42,350
into our ship.
Into our lives, into our minds.

778
01:00:42,550 –> 01:00:45,870
And as soon as we do, a miracle
happens.

779
01:00:45,870 –> 01:00:51,790
Immediately there is calm trust.
They receive peace.

780
01:00:52,430 –> 01:00:56,550
This is the effect that Christ
can have on us when we are

781
01:00:56,550 –> 01:01:00,070
willing to let him renew our
minds.

782
01:01:01,310 –> 01:01:03,830
Of course, in real life it’s
never immediate, is it?

783
01:01:04,630 –> 01:01:09,510
But the principle is there when
we invite Christ into our minds.

784
01:01:09,970 –> 01:01:15,450
Miraculous things can happen.
Do you know what the most

785
01:01:15,490 –> 01:01:19,410
marvelous thing is?
Brothers and sisters, just

786
01:01:19,410 –> 01:01:21,410
quickly come in conclusion to
Philippians.

787
01:01:21,410 –> 01:01:36,490
In Chapter 3, we’ve been talking
about renewal, transformation.

788
01:01:38,180 –> 01:01:42,660
And look what it says in
Philippians chapter 3, verse 18.

789
01:01:43,140 –> 01:01:47,420
For many walk, of whom I have
told you often, and now tell you

790
01:01:47,420 –> 01:01:51,740
even weeping, that they are the
enemies of the cross of Christ,

791
01:01:52,220 –> 01:01:58,300
whose end destruction, Whose God
their belly, whose glory, their

792
01:01:58,300 –> 01:02:04,060
shame, who mind earthly things.
These are the caterpillars of

793
01:02:04,060 –> 01:02:07,100
the world, for our conversation
is in heaven.

794
01:02:07,500 –> 01:02:11,340
Citizenship is above, from
whence also we look for the

795
01:02:11,340 –> 01:02:16,700
Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who shall change our vile body,

796
01:02:17,500 –> 01:02:21,700
that it may be fashioned like
unto His glorious body,

797
01:02:21,860 –> 01:02:25,260
according to the working,
whereby he is able even to

798
01:02:25,260 –> 01:02:29,860
subdue all things unto himself.
One day, brothers and sisters,

799
01:02:29,860 –> 01:02:32,060
it won’t be just their minds
that are renewed.

800
01:02:32,800 –> 01:02:37,560
He will transform our bodies.
Do you know that word change

801
01:02:38,080 –> 01:02:41,600
means to transform shape and the
word fashioned?

802
01:02:42,040 –> 01:02:45,600
Well, it’s the same word as
verse 10 conformed.

803
01:02:45,600 –> 01:02:49,480
This is our hope.
If we are conformed to the same

804
01:02:49,480 –> 01:02:54,720
form mentally in our minds now
to the image of our Lord Jesus

805
01:02:54,720 –> 01:03:00,080
Christ, we can totally and
absolutely trust in God that he

806
01:03:00,080 –> 01:03:04,950
will one day.
Can form our bodies to be like

807
01:03:04,950 –> 01:03:14,830
Christ’s glorious immortal body
one day if we just keep eating.

808
01:03:15,470 –> 01:03:17,110
Just keep eating, brothers and
sisters.

809
01:03:18,510 –> 01:03:24,430
Let’s just keep eating,
absorbing the mind of our Lord

810
01:03:24,430 –> 01:03:28,470
Jesus Christ.
Just see how God is able to work

811
01:03:28,470 –> 01:03:31,430
in our lives to transform us
from ourselves.

812
01:03:33,180 –> 01:03:38,580
So what does this new renewed
mind, the mind of Christ, look

813
01:03:38,580 –> 01:03:42,380
like?
What’s the essence, the

814
01:03:42,380 –> 01:03:48,100
embodiment of this mind in us?
Well, that’s the subject of our

815
01:03:48,100 –> 01:03:51,340
next class, the mind of Christ,
the principle.

816
01:03:55,380 –> 01:03:58,460
Oh my dear brother and sisters,
we’ve been considering together,

817
01:03:58,460 –> 01:03:59,860
haven’t we?
And been encouraged.

818
01:04:00,610 –> 01:04:04,690
That lifelong process of being
transformed, choosing to be

819
01:04:04,690 –> 01:04:10,170
conformed to the image of his
Son of the Lord Jesus Christ,

820
01:04:11,370 –> 01:04:15,370
constantly to be digesting the
word of God, which is living an

821
01:04:15,370 –> 01:04:18,090
active in the discerner of the
thoughts and the intents of our

822
01:04:18,090 –> 01:04:22,930
hearts.
And it’s possible And each one

823
01:04:22,930 –> 01:04:28,650
of us here, if we have that
willing attitude, and then we

824
01:04:28,650 –> 01:04:31,910
can then have that certain hope.
By his grace to have life

825
01:04:31,910 –> 01:04:32,390
eternal.