Renewing Your Mind (Victory Series Book #4): Become More Like Christ (3 page)

Philippians 4:4–9

Key Point

We are not called to dispel the darkness; we are called to turn on the light.

Key Verse

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Philippians 4:9

B
eing transformed by the renewing of our minds requires a proper orientation toward God. Circumstances may not always allow us to be happy, but we can always rejoice in the Lord. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit, and this inner joy can be experienced in every circumstance, because “the Lord is near” (Philippians 4:5).

Paul admonishes us to turn to God when we are feeling anxious, or double-minded. He then uses four words to describe how we do that. “Prayer” is a general term describing our approach to God. “Petition” is
a request for a specific need. “Thanksgiving” is an attitude of the heart that should accompany prayer. “Requests” is plural and identifies what is needed. It is like saying,
Dear heavenly Father
,
I am anxious
and in need right now
.
Thank You for your love
,
and I humbly request the following
. . . Then “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard [our] hearts and [our] minds in Christ Jesus” (verse 7).

Being created in the image of God, we have the capacity to choose. We can choose to believe or not believe, and we can choose what we want to think about. It is not enough to turn to God; we have to assume responsibility for our own thoughts. God will assist us through His grace, but He will not do our thinking for us. Paul wrote, “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (Philippians 4:8).

Don’t try to rebuke every negative thought. That would be like trying to keep 12 corks submerged while treading water in the ocean. We should ignore the corks and swim to shore! We are not called to dispel the darkness. We are called to turn on the light. We win the battle for our minds by choosing the truth. Trying not to think negative thoughts is futile, because it just reinforces the negative thought.

Everything we do is a product of our thoughts. In other words, we don’t do anything without first thinking it, which is why turning to God and thinking positive thoughts is not quite enough either. Paul continues, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you” (verse 9). In other words, live the truth, do the noble deed, do the right thing, live a pure life, and practice loving others as a noble citizen in God’s kingdom.

If we want to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, we have to reprogram our minds. However, like a computer, we better check for viruses. Computer viruses are not accidental—they have been intentionally and maliciously introduced to cripple the computer (brain) and disrupt the program (mind). “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons” (1 Timothy 4:1). That is presently happening today all over the world, which is why we need to submit to God
and
resist the devil (see
James 4:7). The Steps to Freedom in Christ have been designed to help you do that by resolving personal and spiritual conflicts through genuine repentance and faith in God.

Why can believers always rejoice in the Lord?

What should we do when we are struggling with anxious thoughts?

Why is it futile to try to rebuke every negative thought?

How can you make turning to God a habit whenever you have anxious thoughts?

Why is it so important to learn to take every thought captive in obedience to Christ?

The devil, however, as he is the apostate angel, can only go to this length, as he did at the beginning, to deceive and lead astray the mind of man into disobeying the commandments of God, and gradually to darken the hearts.

Irenaeus (AD 130–202)

Ezra 7:8–10

Key Point

If we want God to transform us and renew our minds, we have to study His Word.

Key Verse

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15

I
f we are going to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, we have to know and allow God’s Word to enter our hearts. We must replace old ways of living in this world with new ways of living in the kingdom of God and the lies of this world with the truth of God’s Word. It is not enough to think about Scripture; we have to think scripturally. Wisdom is seeing life from God’s perspective, and we can only learn that from His Word.

Ezra devoted himself to studying God’s Word, but he also took the next step—the most important part of learning. Ezra
observed
the law of the Lord (see Ezra 7:10). People retain only about 10 percent of what they hear and 20 percent of what they see, but they retain 90 percent of what they do. James wrote, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do” (James 1:22–25).

Nowhere is this more emphasized than in the Jewish confession of faith known as the
Shema
.
Shema
is the Hebrew word for “hear,” and it means “to hear as though to obey.” It is recorded in Deuteronomy and recited daily by pious Jews: “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates” (6:4–9).

Paul reveals another critical reason why the knowledge of God’s Word is not transforming our lives: “I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able to receive it. Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?” (1 Corinthians 3:2–3
NASB
). If there is no way for Christians to resolve the jealousy and strife, they will not be able to fully receive God’s Word so as to transform their lives.

David discovered this only after Nathan confronted him about his sin, and he repented. David would then write, “Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. . . . Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the L
ORD
does not count against
them and in whose spirit is no deceit” (Psalm 51:6; 32:1–2). Truth incarnated sets you free!

Why must we go beyond intellectual knowledge if we desire to be transformed?

Why does the Bible refer most often to meditating on the Law or God’s Word?

How can we retain the image we see in the mirror that the Bible reflects back to those who read it?

In what way is God’s Word like milk to you because of unresolved conflicts?

Have you ever heard a good message or read a chapter in the Bible and it had no lasting impact on you? Why do you think that was the case?

A sound mind . . . that is devoted to piety and love of truth will eagerly meditate upon those things that God has placed within the power of mankind and has subjected to our knowledge. . . . Such a mind will advance in the knowledge of those things . . . by means of daily study. I am referring to those things that fall under our observation and are clearly and unambiguously set forth in the sacred Scriptures in clear terms.

Irenaeus (AD 130–202)

The Steps to Freedom in Christ

Personal and spiritual conflicts are resolved through genuine repentance and faith in God. This can’t happen apart from God because He is the One who grants repentance (see 2 Timothy 2:25). Only Jesus can set captives free and bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted. The Steps to Freedom in Christ (“the Steps”) were developed to facilitate this ministry of reconciliation. It is an encounter with God that an individual can process on his or her own. However, it is more effective if a trained encourager leads an inquirer through the Steps. The biblical basis and process are taught in
Discipleship Counseling
.

A Christian therapist did three pilot studies in 1996. All three of these studies were performed on participants who attended a
Living Free
in Christ
conference and were led through the Steps. That conference is now the basic
Freedom in Christ Discipleship Course
that is available in a number
of languages and used all over the world. The first four books of the V
ICTORY
S
ERIES
cover the same material that was taught in the conference.

The first study involved 30 participants who took a 10-item questionnaire before completing the Steps. The questionnaire was re-administered three months after their participation. The questionnaire assessed for levels of depression, anxiety, inner conflict, tormenting thoughts, and addictive behaviors. The second study involved 55 participants who took a 12-item questionnaire before completing the Steps and then again 3 months later. The third pilot study involved 21 participants who also took a 12-item questionnaire before receiving the Steps and then again 3 months afterward. The following table illustrates the average percentage of improvement for each category.

In each case, the encourager was a well-trained layperson who led participants through the Steps in one extended session. No further counseling or discipling took place. Research was also conducted at two additional conferences by a medical doctor and two doctor of psychology students using psychologically normed tests. A personal session conducted by a lay encourager was offered to those who asked for help. They were given a pre-test before a Step session and a post-test three months later, with the following results given in percentage of improvement:

I felt the ingratitude, the danger, the sin of not living nearer to God. I prayed, agonized, strove, and made resolutions, read the word more diligently, sought more time for meditation—but all without avail. Every day, almost every hour, the consciousness of sin oppressed me. I knew that if I could abide in Christ all would be well, but I could not . . . Each day brought its register of sin, failure and lack of power. To will was indeed present within me, but how to perform I found not . . . I hated myself, my sin, yet I gained no strength against it.

When my agony of soul was at its height, a sentence in a letter from dear McCarthy was used to remove the scales from my eyes, and the Spirit of God revealed to me the truth of our oneness with Jesus as I had never known it before. “But how to get faith strengthened? Not by striving after faith, but by resting on the Faithful One.” As I read, I saw it all! “If we believe not, He abideth faithful.” I looked to Jesus and saw (and when I saw, oh, how the joy flowed) that He had said, “I will never leave thee.” I thought, I have striven in vain to rest in Him, I’ll strive no more. . . . But I am dead, buried with Christ—aye, and risen too!
1

—
Hudson Taylor

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