I've Got My Mind Set On You 03-11-16
Romans 8:5-6 (ESV) 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.
6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
I hope all ya’ll hippies from the 60’s and 70’s enjoy this video. I believe it was Beatle George Harrison’s last video. If not the last it was one of the last.
Mindset...hmmm.... that word evokes a powerful, even mystical portrait doesn't it ? It sparks images of a monk, chanting somewhere on a Himalayan mountaintop. Well, at least it does to me lol. What exactly is a mindset? I looked it up. Here is the Dictionary.com definition;
mindset- An attitude, disposition or mood that puts or returns someone or something to it's proper place.
Let me share a testimony from a personal friend of mine this week past. I read a quote this week attributed to C.S.Lewis. It went something like this.
" True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less"
These words came to mind as I sat in the living room of a friend of mine last night. While fighting to stem the flow of the tears that were welling up in his eyes, he spoke to me of the blessings and miracles that God was performing in his life. He was ON FIRE, telling me what God had and was doing in his life. Then he said something that caught my ear and provoked this message. He boldly, but humbly told me that he didn't want anyone thinking that he had anything to do with it. "I don't want anyone to think that I had anything to do with this, I want them to know that it was God that did this. I don't even want my name mentioned."
Psalm 109:26-27 (ESV) 26 Help me, O LORD my God! Save me according to your steadfast love!
27 Let them know that this is your hand; you, O LORD, have done it!
27 Let them know that this is your hand; you, O LORD, have done it!
As the story goes this man, around the first of this year decided to become a giver. He committed to a tithe to a church right down the road from where he lives. He made no fanfare about it. Although I saw him on a daily basis, he didn't voice it. Then one day, while talking to him, he couldn't hold it in any longer. He spent the better part of a half hour recounting how God had began to bless him financially. I won't go into the many different blessings that God has bestowed on him, but, trust me God is MOVING in this man's life. This isn't a message about the benefits of giving...BUT IT COULD BE!!
But, this is a message about mindset. You see,my friend has adjusted his mindset. Or better yet, he has allowed God to change his thinking. Let me go back in time a little bit here. A while back, according to this man's own words "something got a hold of me." That's how he told it to me. The Lord Jesus got a hold of him and began to work a miracle in his life.
It was apparent to many in the neighborhood.The change was noticeable. You gettin my drift here? He was seeing things a little differently. He was talking a little differently. A little bit here, a little bit there. He told me on several different occasions that God had done so much for him, that He wanted to do something for Him. He wanted to honor and praise God because God had been so good to him.
You see, my friend has been transported from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light. He has moved from death and chaos, to life and peace. He has PUT GOD BACK INTO HIS PROPER POSITION. HIS MINDSET HAS BEEN ALTERED. His thinking now revolves around things of the Spirit, rather than the flesh. He thinks more about God and less about himself. And here is the kicker. The benefits of this change in thinking are tangible and material.
He told me last night that he no longer allows his blood pressure to go through the roof while listening to the psycho babble broadcast over the news media. He informed me last night that while his income is unchanged,(he lives primarily on Social Security) he has MORE in his personal checking account now that at anytime in the recent or distant past. On top of that, he told me that he had received a phone call yesterday that informed him there was more money coming in from some retirement account that he had long since forgotten about. "Ronnie", he said, "I am giving more money to the church now than ever, and I have more money in my account than I can remember. I have enough to pay my bills ahead in March and still have plenty left over. I don't understand how God is doing it." This isn't a message about the benefits of giving, BUT, IT COULD BE!!
Proverbs 3:5-8 (ESV) 5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
7 Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
8 It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.
Brothers and sisters, believe me when I tell you this. I could go on and on about the blessings of the Lord in this man's life. Blessings of physical healings, blessings of spiritual healings. In the midst of the many uncertainties in his life, while battling the storms and attacks of the enemy, he has a peace about him. His perspective is removed from the glare and glitter of this present life, and is focused on what is to come.This man's life is being CHANGED because "SOMETHING GOT A HOLD OF HIM" a while back. And he is not ashamed to tell what or better WHO it was. The Lord Jesus Christ captured him and took him in. Just ask him, trust me...he will tell you.
Why all of this? Because, Jesus the Lord, in His mercy, reached down and took a hold of this man. And to his credit this man allowed Jesus in. He took Him at His word. And because of that yielding,he has had a change come over not only his thinking, but over his entire life.He has "set" God back up in his PROPER place.
More about God, less about himself. The essence of true humility.
This man preached to ME last night.He had a word for MY LIFE. Ronnie, look at what God can and will do if you will allow him to change your mindset. If you will set your mind on the things of the Spirit and set God back up into His proper place in your life, then He will do for you as He has done for me. Amen? AMEN AND AMEN!!
Forever, O LORD, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.
God Bless
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