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"Mind Bypass?"
NO MIND BYPASS
This does not mean that our human minds or hearts are somehow bypassed. No, God’s Spirit “channels” His knowledge and plans and will and desires to us through our minds and hearts and human spirits. As we seek His face and spend time with Him and study His word and follow His ways and delight in His presence, then we become more and more attuned to the leading of His Spirit.
We not only hear His voice clearer, but we are actually continuously transformed into the very character or, even better, the nature of Christ. We become one with Christ, which is the ultimate purpose of the Christian. God’s desires become my desires. His plan for my life is my choice also. His thoughts become my thoughts. We are like…best friends! Isn’t this a wonderful place to be?! This is the abundant life to which Christ referred!
THE CORINTHIAN PROBLEM
However, there was a problem with the connection between the human spirits/minds/hearts of the Corinthian church members and the Spirit of God. I will discuss this in more detail next week and beyond. It is important to understand their problem because it is the same dilemma confronting Christians in our generation. Suffice to say for now, those Corinthian church members who had the Spirit of God living within them and had been believers for some time now, should have been able by this time to understand the deeper truths of God. Yet they were still allowing their old sinful, selfish, humanistic “nature” to control their thoughts and actions. Paul calls them out for such spiritual immaturity.
CONCLUSION
Why is this topic such an important consideration for faith in our generation? Mental/emotional health is a constant battle for an increasing number of people in our world, both for Christians and non-believers. Many are desperate for help in coping with the anxiety and pressure bombarding them every day. Countless individuals are burdened with mental and emotional trauma. Various fears or emotional disorders, depression, anxiety, hopelessness, worry, fear, despondency, laziness, apathy, guilt, paranoia, and many similar conditions can definitely be improved by renewing our minds with the Spirit of God.
But perhaps the most taxing condition in our world today is what I call “Stinkin’ Thinkin’.” It is the same type of “thinking” that Paul confronted in the Corinthian Church. We do not talk like Jesus talks. We do not act like Jesus acts. We do not live as Jesus lived. It is all because we do not think as God thinks.
We need to lose our minds and find the mind of Christ! We must abandon our old sinful, carnal, humanistic ways of thinking and feeling and acting and adopt a new frame of reference. We need new, spiritual minds and hearts. We need the mind of Christ.
This does not mean that our human minds or hearts are somehow bypassed. No, God’s Spirit “channels” His knowledge and plans and will and desires to us through our minds and hearts and human spirits. As we seek His face and spend time with Him and study His word and follow His ways and delight in His presence, then we become more and more attuned to the leading of His Spirit.
We not only hear His voice clearer, but we are actually continuously transformed into the very character or, even better, the nature of Christ. We become one with Christ, which is the ultimate purpose of the Christian. God’s desires become my desires. His plan for my life is my choice also. His thoughts become my thoughts. We are like…best friends! Isn’t this a wonderful place to be?! This is the abundant life to which Christ referred!
THE CORINTHIAN PROBLEM
However, there was a problem with the connection between the human spirits/minds/hearts of the Corinthian church members and the Spirit of God. I will discuss this in more detail next week and beyond. It is important to understand their problem because it is the same dilemma confronting Christians in our generation. Suffice to say for now, those Corinthian church members who had the Spirit of God living within them and had been believers for some time now, should have been able by this time to understand the deeper truths of God. Yet they were still allowing their old sinful, selfish, humanistic “nature” to control their thoughts and actions. Paul calls them out for such spiritual immaturity.
CONCLUSION
Why is this topic such an important consideration for faith in our generation? Mental/emotional health is a constant battle for an increasing number of people in our world, both for Christians and non-believers. Many are desperate for help in coping with the anxiety and pressure bombarding them every day. Countless individuals are burdened with mental and emotional trauma. Various fears or emotional disorders, depression, anxiety, hopelessness, worry, fear, despondency, laziness, apathy, guilt, paranoia, and many similar conditions can definitely be improved by renewing our minds with the Spirit of God.
But perhaps the most taxing condition in our world today is what I call “Stinkin’ Thinkin’.” It is the same type of “thinking” that Paul confronted in the Corinthian Church. We do not talk like Jesus talks. We do not act like Jesus acts. We do not live as Jesus lived. It is all because we do not think as God thinks.
We need to lose our minds and find the mind of Christ! We must abandon our old sinful, carnal, humanistic ways of thinking and feeling and acting and adopt a new frame of reference. We need new, spiritual minds and hearts. We need the mind of Christ.
