Perspective:
Phil. 2:5
; Eph. 4:23
; Col. 1:8-10
; Phil. 4:8
; 2 Cor. 10:5
-The
New Testament teaches that the source of our behaviour is the
mind. The salvation we have received though Christ begins to be
established and worked out in our thoughts before it becomes our
lifestyle. It is in the mind that we look at ourselves and form
a perception of who we are. We have a mental mirror that images
to us who we believe ourselves to be. Accordingly, before Christ,
the false images we had of ourselves, patterns of anxiety, feelings
and behaviour are to be changed to new patterns that reveal the
love, hope and peace of God. , i. e. , learning to think with
the mind of Christ.
Hope:
Matt. 13:1-9
, 8-23
; Jere. 31:33
; Eze. 36:26
, 27
-We now have
a new center, a new magnetic north. Christ has put His life into
us, we have a new heart, and His law written on that new heart,
a heart of flesh, not stone. We have new soil to receive the word
of God in order to conform to his image.
Matt. 18:3 -To hear the Gospel is usually a passive act. At the surface level, it may make sense to us so that we accept it. At the same time, we may still believe in our deepest being the prompting of the Lie, and we self-talk ourselves and fail to translate the Gospel into behaviour. Having a new heart means to turn around and go in the other direction, facing the fact that we now have to build our lives on a totally new foundation. Like children, we have to relearn the meaning of our lives and how to live it. A question of choice, choosing to change, to repent which opens the door to being Christlike.
Eph. 1:18 ; Eph. 4:23 ; Col. 1:9-10 -The 'heart' in Scripture is never the seat of emotions, but the center of a man's person. The heart of a man is his mind, the way he thinks and believes about life, from his beliefs he makes his decisions. The spirit of the mind speaks to the direction the mind thinks in. As we study the word of God, we progress being filled with godly knowledge. This wisdom and understanding originates in the spirit, and this becomes the source of our behaviour which pleases God.
Change:
2 Cor. 4:3-4
; Rom. 12:1-2
-Our genealogy, life's experiences
and encounters formed us to a self-focus, and a self-defensive
posture to guard us against the fears of living . From this we
established a belief bank which fashioned and determined the course
of life. The basic cause of all our fears is not how other people
view us and how we measure up in their eyes, but how we view ourselves
and measure up to our own standards.
We talk to ourselves from our source, and by it we judge ourselves and everyone else. It is by this self-talk with its endless commands, requirements, and patterns of fear, it is this thinking that we base our actions or inactions. This belief bank and resultant self-talk is to be renewed.
Gen. 3:5 ; Rom. 8:6-7 ; Eph. 4:17 ; Rom. 1:18-27 -The Satanic lie of Eden "You shall be as God' was first injected into the mind and introduced a new and totally false belief system. It reflected to man through the inner mirror that he was to find the meaning to life in his created flesh. By this lie Satan gained legal access to the mind. Thus, man outside of Christ has a mind that is blinded by flesh feelings, he is led by passion, not logic, believing man is the center and the meaning of life.
2 Cor. 10:4 -The foundational belief system and the image of our self that arose from it were fashioned and given definition in our childhood. They were laid down and built up by our forefathers and parents, and were passed into our hands to build upon and updated to pass on to our children.
2 Cor. 10:5
; Rom. 12:1-2
; Rom. 8:29
; Rom. 10:9
; 1 Cor. 2
-Daily we
replenish the mind to eventually realize that we were created
capable and responsible to receive a revelation of who God is,
who we are, and the meaning of our existence. We are responsible
to look to the "One" who made us and ask , "Who
am I?" He tells us . We are dependent upon the creator God
Who is unconditional love, deriving our life from Him. In the
ability of the Holy Spirit, we are to express that life, His love
in our behaviour, glorifying Him in creation. This is the belief
bank we are to live from , the truth of God's word embedded in
our human spirit which directs our life being a blessing on earth
as Jesus was, is, and in us. By this we subdue the world's influences
and the devil.