HOW TO TRULY BE "NEW" IN THE "NEW" YEAR
“…LET THIS MIND BE IN
YOU, WHICH WAS ALSO IN CHRIST JESUS…” (Philippians 2:5 KJV).
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God has instructed ALL
believers to “…be transformed by the renewing of your mind….” (Romans 12:2 KJV). We
have long determined that the mind and all that it CONTAINS (emotions, will,
conscience, influences, appetites, understanding, intellect, etc.) is housed in
the HEART. “… For
out of the HEART COME evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality,
theft, false testimony, slander…” (Matthew 15:18-19 NIV). “Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked, “Why are you THINKING
these things IN YOUR HEART?” (Luke 5:22 NIV).
Because of the FALL; “…All have sinned (including you) and fallen
short of the glory of God…” (Romans 3:23). ALL“… [have become]…..unclean and [their] righteousnesses are
as FILTHY RAGS….”
(Isaiah 64:6 KJV). Unfortunately, “…There
is none righteous, no,
not one:” (Romans 3:10 KJV).
“…There is not a just man upon earth,
that doeth good, and sinneth not…” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 KJV
“….Jesus said unto him ….there is none good but one, that is, God” (Mark 10:18 KJV). “…for he is GOOD…” (Psalm 107:1 KJV). “…Thou
are GOOD and doest GOOD…” (Psalm
119:68 KJV). “…for the lord is GOOD…”
(Psalm 100:5 KJV). “…Oh how great is thy
GOODNESS… (Psalm 31:19 KJV). “..The lord is GOOD…” (Nahum 1:7 KJV). “…GOOD and upright is the Lord…” (Psalm
25:8 KJV). “…For thou, Lord, is GOOD…” (Psalm 86:5 KJV). “…O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is GOOD… ” (Psalms 106:1 KJV).
“…O give thanks unto the LORD; for he
is GOOD; for his mercy endureth
for ever” (1 Chronicles…”
16:34 KJV).
The human HEART houses all that the MIND
contains. The heart “…is
deceitful ABOVE ALL THINGS and
desperately wicked…who can know it [except God?]…” (Jeremiah 17:9 KJV).
The human heart and all
that it contains is so corrupted with sin, God has to TOTALLY replace it.
God says, “…I WILL
GIVE you a “NEW” heart…” (Ezekiel 36:26 NLT). “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new
creature: old things are passed away; behold, ALL THINGS ARE BECOME NEW…” (2
Corinthians 5:17 KJV).
We talked earlier about
Jesus having a humble mindset, but he also had the mindset of a servant. In his
humanity, Jesus had the rights to employ his own mind apart from God. Instead, “[He]…
took upon him the form of a servant…”
Philippians 2:6-7 KJV).
Jesus was here to serve God. The bible
clearly tells us Jesus did “…not come to
be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew
20:28 NIV).
Jesus’ service to God did not
exclude him from the various trials, tribulations, or nuances he had to endure.
“…He endured the
cross, disregarding its shame…”
(Hebrews 12:2 NLT).
Christ’s mindset of
servitude aided him and enabled him to disregard the shame
of the cross. He “…humbled
himself and became obedient unto
death…” (Philippians 2:8 KJV). “He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” When they hurled their
insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he ENTRUSTED himself to him who
JUDGES JUSTLY…” (1 Peter 2:19-23 NIV). He “…EMPTIED HIMSELF…” (Philippians 2:7 NASB).
The things Jesus said revealed
what was in his heart. “…The things that come
OUT of a person’s MOUTH come FROM THE HEART… “…Out of the abundance of THE HEART …THE MOUTH SPEAKS…”
(Luke 6:45 RSV). Jesus
SAID, out of his mouth: “…I
seek not mine own will…but the will
of the Father which hath sent me...” (John 5:30 KJV).
Jesus was a servant and had a servant’s
heart. “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal
with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon
him the form of a servant, and was
made in the likeness of men…” (Philippians 2:6-7 KJV). “[He]… took upon him the FORM OF A SERVANT …” Philippians 2:6-7 KJV).
Jesus said, out of his mouth, “… I lay down my life... No one takes it from me, but I lay it down OF
MY OWN ACCORD. I have
authority to lay it down and authority
to take it up again. This command I received from my Father…” (John 10:17-18 KJV). “…..not
my will, but thine, be done…” (Luke 22:42 KJV).
Jesus did, “…not come to be served, but TO SERVE AND TO GIVE His life a ransom for many…”
(Matthew 20:28 NIV). He had a servant’s
heart.
Jesus had a servant’s heart which revealed
a mindset of unselfish regard for his own agenda. Jesus is a witness for a servant’s
mindset and for a heart devoted to God’s will.
Jesus’ mindset is the model for believers
to fashion their own minds after. “Let this mind be in
you, which was also in Christ Jesus…” (Philippians 2:5 KJV).
There is NOTHING from the OLD heart/mind
that is useful to the NEW heart in Christ. “…I WILL GIVE you a “NEW” heart…” (Ezekiel 36:26
NLT).
There is NOTHING from
the OLD heart/mind that is clean enough for the NEW heart in Christ. “… We are ALL as an unclean thing and our righteousnesses are as filthy rags….”
(Isaiah 64:6 KJV). “…We are all infected
and impure with sin.
When we display our righteous deeds, they
are nothing but filthy rags…”
(Isaiah 64:6 NLT).
There is NOTHING from
the OLD heart that is even transferable to the NEW heart in Christ. “…. the desires of your sinful nature (old
heart) ….are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling,
jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division,
envy, drunkenness, wild
parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before,
that ANYONE
LIVING THAT SORT OF LIFE WILL “NOT” INHERIT THE KINGDOM OF GOD…”
(Galatians 5 NLT).
There is NOTHING from
the OLD heart/mind that is strong enough to enable, the believer, to have what
is necessary for the NEW heart in Christ. “…Not that
we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God…” (2 Corinthians 3:5 KJV).
There is NOTHING from the OLD heart/mind
that is powerfully enough to stop the domination of sin which made a slave out
of the old sinful nature. “…The
trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin.
…I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. …I [am] …a slave to the sin that is … WITHIN
me. …Who will free me from
this life that is dominated by sin?” (Romans
7:14-25 NLT).
Apostle Paul put
confidence is his OLD life before he met Christ. Yet Paul discovered NOTHING
from his OLD nature was even comparable to, useful for, or worthy of his NEW
life in Christ. “…Put no confidence in
human effort, though I could have confidence in my own
effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in
their own efforts, I have even more. I was circumcised when I
was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the
tribe of Benjamin—a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the
Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was
so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. I once thought
these things were valuable, but
now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes,
everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing
Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, COUNTING
IT ALL AS GARBAGE, so that I could gain Christ and
become one with him. I no longer count on my
own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through
faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith…”
(Philippians 3:3-9 NLT).
Jesus “…humbled himself and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross…”
(Philippians 2:8 KJV). Jesus also said, “…Father, if you are willing,
take this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done" (Luke 22:42-43 NIV). “…Keeping our eyes on Jesus, the
champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the JOY awaiting him, he endured the
cross, disregarding its shame…”
(Hebrews 12:2 NLT). “Let this mind be in
you, which was also in Christ Jesus…” (Philippians 2:5 KJV).
There is NOTHING from your OLD heart/mind
that would or could EVER serve God, do his will, or accomplish his work. “… I know that in me (that
is, in my flesh,)
dwelleth NO GOOD thing: for to will
is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I FIND “NOT”. … ….” (Romans 7:14-23 KJV). “For it is [ONLY]… God which worketh in [me]… both to
will and to do of his
good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13 KJV).
Therefore, “…be transformed by the renewing of your mind….”
(Romans 12:2 KJV). “…This is the
work of God, that ye believe on Him whom he hath sent.”
(John 6:28-29 KJV).
Your MAJOR responsibility in the
relationship with God through Christ is to DEPEND upon him. “..BELIEVE (or depend upon) … him.” “…Abraham believed (depended upon) God, and it was credited to him as
righteousness, and he was called God’s friend…” (James 2:18-24 NIV).
Paul said, “…I become righteous
THROUGH FAITH IN CHRIST. For
God’s way of
making us right with himself depends [up]on faith…” (Philippians
3:3-9 NLT). “…walk BY [the indwelling Spirit of]… FAITH...” (2 Corinthians 5:7 KJV “….WITHOUT [the indwelling Spirit of]…FAITH it is impossible to
please God…” (Hebrews 11:6 KJV).
“…How shall
we escape, if we neglect SO GREAT SALVATION; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed
unto us by them that heard him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs
and wonders, and with divers miracles, and GIFTS OF THE HOLY GHOST, according to his own will?”
(Hebrews 2:3-5 KJV).
“…Now God gives us many kinds of special abilities …He gives SPECIAL FAITH to another … (1 Corinthians 12:4-11
NLT). “…But the fruit of the Spirit is …FAITH …” (Galatians 5:22-23 KJV). God “…dealt to EVERY man THE MEASURE OF FAITH...” (Romans 12:3 KJV). Let
“…Christ …dwell in your hearts BY FAITH
…” (Ephesians 3:17 KJV). “… [JESUS]… ENTRUSTED himself to
him who JUDGES JUSTLY…” (1 Peter 2:19-23 NIV). “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus…”
(Philippians 2:5 KJV).
God loves you FIRST and FOREMOST. “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved
us and SENT HIS SON...” (1 John
4:10 KJV). God wanted to guarantee and EMPOWER your ability to “…walk BY
FAITH...” (2
Corinthians 5:7 KJV). Therefore, God “…dealt to every man THE MEASURE OF FAITH...” (Romans 12:3 KJV). “…FAITH
COMETH (is activated) by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Roman 10:17 KJV)
“…The Word (Jesus Christ) was made flesh,
and DWELT AMONG
US...” (JOHN 1:14). NOW“…Jesus Christ (The WORD)… is “IN” YOU…” (2
Corinthians 13:5 KJV). “…The Spirit of God DWELLETH IN YOU?” (1 Corinthians 3:16 KJV). ). “…The Lord
is that Spirit…” (2
Corinthians 3:17 KJV). Therefore, let “…Christ
…dwell in your hearts by faith …”
(Ephesians 3:17 KJV).
God has provided YOU
with a GREAT SALVATION by giving YOU
EVERYTHING. “…His DIVINE POWER hath given unto us ALL THINGS that pertain unto life and godliness…”
(2 Peter 1:3 KJV). “....You are joined
unto the Lord [and have become] …ONE SPIRIT [with him]; …God SHALL [therefore,]… supply all your need
according to his riches in glory BY Christ Jesus…” (1 Corinthians 6:17
& Philippians 4:19 KJV). “…God would make known [where is]…
the riches of the glory …which is CHRIST “IN” YOU…” (Colossians
1:25-28 KJV). “ …WE have
this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power
may be of God, and not of us...”
(2 Corinthians 4:6-7 KJV).
“…Be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that YE MAY PROVE what is
that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God…” (Romans 12:2 KJV).
God’s
people, “…have the mind of Christ” (1
CORINTHIANS 2:16 KJV). “Let this mind be in
you, which was also in Christ Jesus…” (Philippians 2:5 KJV). “…WHATEVER I am now [or you are IN Christ]… it is
all because God poured out his special favor on [US]…” (1 Corinthians 15:10 NLT). Therefore,
“…If
any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new…”
(2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV).
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