Before we knew and submitted to God, and we rejected Him and lived according to the world, we held certain mindsets or ways of thinking as His enemies. As it says in...
Colossians 1:21–23 (NLT)
you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault. 23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News. The Good News has been preached all over the world, and I, Paul, have been appointed as God’s servant to proclaim it.
As stated in the concluding scripture, we must stand firmly. To establish ourselves in unfamiliar territory, we must adopt new ways of thinking to cultivate the perseverance required for standing strong. It necessitates challenging and overcoming old thoughts and ways of living.
1 Peter 1:13-16 (ESV)
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
How do we start to overcome our old anti christ thoughts and ways?
PREPARE YOUR MIND
1 Peter 1:13 (ESV)
Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Preparation is a present decision with the future in mind! To prepare something means you desire it be different! Most of us wish things to be different - instead we should prepare for it!
PREPARED MINDS ARE SOBER MINDS THAT YIELD ACTIVE WORSHIP
A LIFE THAT PLEASES GOD IS ONE THAT IS YIELDED AND SUBMITTED TO HIM AS A
LIVING SACRIFICE, DEAD TO ITS OWN WANTS OR DESIRES.
WE PREPARE OUR MINDS BY CHOOSING TO LET GO OF OUR OWN DESIRES (DYING TO ONE SELF) AND EMBRACING WHOLEHEARTEDLY THE WAYS OF GOD, RECOGNIZING THAT THIS IS ULTIMATELY & ETERNALLY BETTER FOR US.
1 Peter 5:8 (ESV)
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
What if God says go! Would you be effective? (Drunk guy asked to play football Analogy)
BEING SOBER MINDED MEANS STAYING CLEAR-HEADED AND NOT LETTING THE WORLD'S TEMPTATIONS OR IT'S GOD (LITTLE G) DISTRACT US. IT ENSURES THAT WE ARE ALWAYS READY AND AVAILABLE FOR SERVICE WHENEVER IT'S NEEDED.
A sober mind is a prepared mind that is unclouded and ready for action! But how do we do it?
Romans 12:1–2 (NLT)
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
ACTION MATTERS BECAUSE OBEDIENCE MATTERS - SO WHAT PATTERN ARE WE USING?
1 Peter 1:14–16 (ESV)
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, 15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.”
Simply put…
John 14:15 (ESV) If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
Renewing the mind is a little like refinishing furniture. It is a two-stage process. It involves taking off the old and replacing it with the new. The old is the lies you have learned to tell or were taught by those around you; it is the attitudes and ideas that have become a part of your thinking but do not reflect reality. The new is the truth. To renew your mind is to involve yourself in the process of allowing God to bring to the surface the lies you have mistakenly accepted and replace them with truth. To the degree that you do this, your behavior will be transformed.
- Charles Stanley
TO OVERCOME OLD WAYS AND THOUGHTS WE NEED TO BE ACTIVE IN THE RENEWING PROCESS! OUR ACTIVE OR ACTIONABLE PART IS TO PRESENT OURSELVES AS A LIVING SACRIFICE DAILY!