Lesson 5 ~ Fifth Week March
KEEPING YOUR MIND
ON JESUS
Background Reading:
Romans 7:25; 12:2; 16; Colossians 1:21-25; Philippians 4:7; Hebrews 12:3; 1 Peter 1:13
Devotional Reading:
Ephesians 4:17-31
Central Verse:
“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.”
Isaiah 26:3, KJV
“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in You, all whose thoughts are fixed on You!”
Isaiah 26:3, NLT
Key Terms:
Sinful nature: A wicked or immoral force that resides within people and is the source of internal thoughts, attitudes, and impulses that go against God’s will: the tendency of humans to sin, which is considered to be a fallen moral and spiritual state.
Contradictory: A proposition so related to another that if either of the two is true, the other is false, and if either is false, the other must be true.
Carnal mind: The mind that is dominated by selfishness, self-willed, self-focused, and self-seeking, which is all about pleasing the flesh.
Introduction:
It has been said “that a mind is a terrible thing to waste.” The world has normalized fear, anxiety, and stress, but Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, offers each person a compelling solution to renew the mind. The mind is vital, and the believers’ thoughts are one of the most challenging areas of life, but the believer must maintain mastery over them because it is with the mind that the believers serve the Lord. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. One of the most significant battles that a believer face is in our minds. Our thoughts drive our feelings, often dictating our behavior and shaping our lives.
When a person is carnal-minded, his heart searches for something that lust cannot fill. The Word tells believers that to be carnally minded means death, but to be spiritual-minded means life and peace. A carnal mind causes a person to constantly focus on satisfying the flesh. However, God can crush those fleshly and selfish ambitions and desires and cause a believer to walk in the spirit.
Discussion:
Believers need to keep our eyes and our minds focused on Jesus. When the believer remembers that Jesus is our Savior, and He is the key to letting go of our fears and anxieties and finding joy in God’s promises for us. God promises to keep the believers in perfect peace if we keep our minds on Him and trust Him. Sometimes that is one of the most significant challenges because in the mind, the believer really wants to serve God, but because of his sinful nature, he is a slave to sin. The Book of Romans tells the believer to stop trying to be like the world but allow his mind to be renewed. He can’t allow the old things of the world to dominate his mind but to begin to think of good things. To think about things that are acceptable to God and to seek to do the will of God.
Learning to trust God is very important and necessary for a believer when he is trying to keep his mind together. Many church people are losing their minds, which contradicts God’s Word. God’s Word tells the believers that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but He has given us power, love, and soundness of mind. When the mind is sound, there is no reason to lose it; it should stay intact. It is said that Dementia and Alzheimer’s are severe diseases that affect numerous people. It is said to be a brain disease that has a significant impact on individuals, especially seniors, their families, and society. While medical research and treatment have advanced, there is much to learn about these diseases. God has a mighty transforming power, which He extends to His children. He is the only one who can restore and refresh the mind. But the believer must surrender every aspect of his life to God, who created him, believing and trusting His Word.
Believers should believe the report of the Bible, which tells us that many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers us from them all. God keeps His promises to His believers. The righteous cry, and the Lord hears them and delivers them from all their distresses (Psalm 34:17, 19).
Fear has torment but God’s perfect love will cast out all fear. It is easy to allow fear to creep into the mind because the mind is the place of memories. Many things that happened in the past were not good things and the unpleasant memories torment a person. That is why that person must study to keep his mind and thoughts on Jesus and the good things of his life. We must become spiritually and emotionally healthy by learning to think about life in alignment with God’s Word the way God intended. We must learn to capture God’s vision for life and then anchor our minds to that vision and remain grounded in God. Let the prayer, “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,” take root in our lives as we set healthy goals and work to achieve them.
Renewing your mind to God’s Word is the key to lasting change for the believer, and it must be a daily action. The believer cannot conduct business as he did before he became a believer. He must make some changes.
Conclusion:
Many self-help books are excellent and available to those who want to do self-care. It has become the rage in many areas: clean eating, rest, exercise, essential oils, vegetarians, and all types of help-care that are good and have great benefits. But many believers are yet struggling with stress, anxiety, anger, insecurity, or self-doubt. We need to know that all our human efforts are reasonable and have good intentions, but greater, deeper spiritual care is necessary. Only God and His Word can show the believer how to care for his soul, where his mind, will, passions, and emotions live.
David said that God restores his soul because life can sometimes be challenging, overwhelming, and exhausting. But when God is our Shepard, He calls us to rest in Him, breathe in the joy that He offers, and exchange the spirit of heaviness for the garment of praise. As He leads us beside the still waters, we can drink in the refreshing streams of His love and forgiveness. God is concerned about all the concerns of the believers, so we have to learn to cast all our cares upon Him. As the Good Shepherd, He revives, repairs, and renews our total being as He restores our souls. Take the time to allow the Holy Spirit to renew and reprogram your minds through the Word of God.
Questions:
1. What causes a believer to lose their minds according to the Word?
2. What can a believer do if his mind seems to be slipping?
3. What do fear, doubt, and unbelief do to the believer’s mind?
4. What does it mean to be kept in perfect peace?
Essential Thoughts:
The believers must keep their minds
so that they can continue to serve the Lord.