Transcript Document

“We are to grow up in
all aspects into Him
who is the head, even
Christ”
“As a result, we are no
longer to be children”
“Brethren, do not be
children in your
thinking…in your
thinking be mature”
“For though by this time you
ought to be teachers, you
need someone to teach you
again the first principles of
the oracles of God; and you
have come to need milk and
not solid food.”
“If anyone wishes to
come after Me, he must
deny himself, and take
up his cross daily and
follow Me”
• Are we only experiencing
mediocre growth in our life
as a Christian?
–If so, our commitment is
half-hearted.
“and the one on whom the
seed was sown among the
thorns, this is the man who
hears the word, and the worry
of the world and the
deceitfulness of wealth choke
the word, and it becomes
unfruitful”
• Are you a distracted Christian?
–To actually make the most of
our time on this earth, we must
maintain an eternal perspective.
“No one, after putting
his hand to the plow
and looking back, is fit
for the kingdom of God”
• that behind everything we do
originated with a thought.
• that every behavior is driven by
a belief.
• that every action is incited by an
attitude.
“Watch over your heart
with all diligence, for from
it flow the springs of life”
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures
on earth, where moth and rust destroy
and where thieves break in and steal;
20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in
heaven, where neither moth nor rust
destroys and where thieves do not break
in and steal. 21 For where your treasure
is, there your heart will be also.
• “Here the word ‘heart’ means more
than mental or emotional capacity; it
also encompasses one’s values” (Bible
Knowledge Comm. p. 914)
• “Keep thy heart more than any other
keeping” (P.P. Comm. p. 91),because our
habits, lifestyle, and eternal destiny will
all be determined by what we allow
ourselves to believe and value.
• First, one must want to change!
– “And behold, a woman in the city who was
a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at
the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought
an alabaster flask of fragrant oil,” - Luke
7:37
• Secondly, there also needs to be that
conviction that God’s way of thinking
and living is truly the right way, not just
for others, but for me as well!
“And be not conformed to this
world: but be ye transformed by
the renewing of your mind, that
ye may prove that which is good,
and acceptable, and perfect, will
of God.”
“that you be renewed in
the spirit of your mind”
“Let this mind be in
you, which was also
in Christ Jesus:”
• The Bible makes it clear that selfish
thinking also leads to a life of sin.
– “because the mind set on the flesh is
hostile toward God; for it does not
subject itself to the law of God”
(Romans 8:7)
– “Who set their minds on earthly things”
(Philippians 3:19)
• This is one example of immature
thinking, where we are thinking only
of yourself and what we want right
now.
– Have you grown beyond this level of
thinking?
– If we are presently unhappy or
miserable, this is probably where we
are mentally.
“Where do wars and fights come from among you?
Do they not come from your desires for pleasure
that war in your members? 2 You lust and do not
have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You
fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do
not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you
ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.
4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know
that friendship with the world is enmity with God?
Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world
makes himself an enemy of God.”
“Man shall not live on
bread alone, but on
every word that
proceeds out of the
mouth of God”
“Sanctify them
through thy truth:
Thy word is truth.”
• Much of our problems transpire due
to centering our decisions on
undependable ideals:
– culture (“everyone is doing it”)
– tradition (“we’ve always done it”)
– reason (“it seemed logical”)
– emotion (“it just felt right”)
“Every word of God
is pure [tested]…”
“Therefore all Your
precepts concerning
all things I consider to
be right; I hate every
false way.”
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do
not war according to the flesh. 4 For the
weapons of our warfare are not carnal
but mighty in God for pulling down
strongholds, 5 casting down arguments
and every high thing that exalts itself
against the knowledge of God, bringing
every thought into captivity to the
obedience of Christ,”
• If we are unhappy, miserable,
envious, and quarrelsome, then we
are holding onto a number of lies.
– The truth will convict us of sin, but
the truth will not lead to an unhappy
or miserable life (Psalm 119:97-105)
“It is my mediation all
the day”
“Your word I have
treasured in my
heart”
“I will mediate on
Your precepts and
regard Your ways”
• Worry, envy, jealousy, lust, hate, and so
on, are the result of a mental focus on
what is false.
• Patience, kindness, love and so on, are
the result of a mental focus on what is
true!
– Why not spend all this mental energy
on what is true and be happy as a
result?
• The wayside soil (Matt. 13:19): Here is
the closed mind, the person who only
wants to believe what is comfortable
and what suits their self-interest and
preconceived ideas.
• The rocky soil (Matt. 13:20): Here is the
person who lets in a little bit of truth,
but wants to live a superficial life as
well.
• The thorny soil (22): This is the
distracted mind, the person who is
trying to trust God and hold on to a
number of lies as well.
• The good ground (23): The only
individual who grows in this entire
section is the last person mentioned
who completely embraces God’s truth
and acts upon it.
• In order to grow spiritually, we must be
willing to trust God completely and
involves:
– exclusive allegiance, not part-time
faithfulness (Matthew 6:33; 24).
– Servants remember that God owns it all
(Psalm 24:1)
– Servants do not view various jobs as beneath
them, and servants are secure people who do
not worry about how they appear to others.