314 - Renewal of the Mind and Change 1#
314 - Renewal of the Mind and Change 1
(JP Text Group - Organized by the Little Prince of Heaven)
Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, brothers, I urge you, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Let us pray together first
Heavenly Father! Thank you and praise you! Thank you for preparing this time, as we begin a new week of life, we are willing to come before you to receive your supply. As we receive, help us to renew and transform our minds according to your word, for you are the victorious King, the Creator of the world. You know all the changes in the laws of the world. We are willing to live according to your word. Please lead every brother and sister who seeks you to receive your supply. Thank you and praise the Lord! In the name of the Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen!
The topic we are sharing is: Renewal of the Mind and Change
Many people read the Bible and listen to sermons, but many only treat God's words as spiritual things to listen to. Some may find it quite interesting; the Bible seems to make sense, and they think it is a kind of principle. However, if that is all, it cannot influence your life. What we want to talk about now is that you need to apply this word to your life. Therefore, our faith is actually a way of life. You need to let the word influence your life, affect your thoughts, and it will influence your actions, aligning your thinking with Jesus' thoughts. In this way, every aspect of your life will change.
We see some Christians who love God, but when they do things, they often act contrary to God's words. Many people may find it hard to understand this and wonder: If they love God, why can they act this way? I believe these people also read the Bible and want to live it out. But why do they often live out the opposite? We have been emphasizing that the way you live now depends on what you believe. What I mean by belief is not necessarily Jesus. Do you understand?
Simply put, even a non-believer's current way of life is determined by their thoughts from years ago. For example, someone thinks that setting up a stall by the roadside, even if they are dressed in rags, can still earn money. There are people online saying that in Dubai, just picking up trash for a month can earn tens of thousands. If that is their thought, where will they go? To Dubai, is that not their thought? Previous thoughts influence current lifestyles. Many people fail, listen to others saying there are better ways to make money, and then they go again. Are they not acting based on their thoughts? It is the same in spiritual lifestyles.
Brothers and sisters, your way of acting depends on your thinking. If you think in a certain way, that way will influence your life. We all hope that our current way of life is Jesus' way because Jesus is victorious; He can overcome all things. Since this is the case, how can we maintain our thoughts and actions in alignment with Jesus? Jesus also said, "The works that I do, he who believes in me will do also; and greater works than these will he do."
Jesus healed people, helped people, comforted people, encouraged people, and shared the gospel with them. Are these things not things we can do? Yes, we can do them. Jesus was a very successful person in the world, and we also hope to be like that, wanting to be victorious in everything like Jesus in this world. We have listened to God's words, which should influence our lives, but in reality, most Christians have not been influenced by the word many times and still live in the old way. This means that God's word has not been continuously renewing them to believe. Many people, regardless of what God says, always have a set way of thinking, and that is the problem. What we need to do is change that way of thinking. I will quickly explain this. The book of Colossians is a letter Paul wrote to believers he had never met. These people had only heard the message Paul preached, believed the gospel, and believed in Jesus. Paul went to encourage them. Let’s take a look.
Colossians 2:1-3
I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not met me personally. My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.
This is what Paul said to the church in Colossae. These people had never met Paul, but Paul was now comforting them out of love. What did he hope this group of people would understand? It was not to let them hear something new every time. We are not here to listen to stories and science fiction; the focus should always be on Jesus. Here he says that your hearts may be encouraged, and that you may have full assurance of understanding. This is what many Christians have been longing for. How can we have full assurance and understanding? Actually, all of this is related to Christ, so that they may truly know the mystery of God.
Many people talk about mysteries. Some talk about the mysteries of the world, the mysteries of human origins, and the mysteries of the end of the world. These are all mysteries. The mysteries we need to know must be related to Jesus. As long as your mystery does not depart from Christ, it will definitely affect you. Do you need wisdom and knowledge? Where are they? All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him.
Do you know that the world's top knowledge and wisdom are in Jesus? How do you obtain them? Very simple, read the Bible. Although the Bible is thick, do you know there are no unnecessary words? God does not say, "Oh! What I said before, you can listen or not." God does not do such things.
All the knowledge and wisdom we need are hidden in Christ. This indicates that these things have already been prepared, right? Paul is saying to acknowledge that you have already received all of this, rather than pursuing something new. Now, is Christ in your heart? Is Christ's wisdom in you? Yes, it is. What you need to do is to awaken what is already within you.
So many Christians are chasing after what Christ has already accomplished. This mindset is wrong. Simply put, some say, "Holy Spirit, please come down now." Is that right? No, it is not right. Why is it not right? Two thousand years ago, on the day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit already came down, and when you believed in Jesus, He dwelt in your heart. You do not need to ask Him to come down again.
"Lord, please come among us..." Is there still such a song? Do we need to ask like this now? Always remember, wherever you go, the Holy Spirit is with you. You do not need to ask for this, brothers and sisters. The moment you believed in Jesus, the Holy Spirit dwelt in you. Wherever you go, He goes with you. You need to be constantly aware that the Holy Spirit walks with you, and that is enough. It is not about asking, "Lord, please dwell in my heart now; please come down here now." It is not like that. Jesus has already accomplished these things. All wisdom and knowledge are already hidden in Christ. What we need to say and do is to acknowledge and point out what God has accomplished.
Here it mentions being fully assured in understanding, so that they may truly know the mystery of God. In Jesus Christ, what we discuss may seem new, but in reality, there is nothing new. The book of Ecclesiastes says, "There is nothing new under the sun." One generation goes and another comes, but the earth remains the same.
There is fundamentally nothing new in the world. If there is something new, it must be something in Jesus Christ. Amen! The mystery you need to understand is the mystery concerning Christ, who is in your heart, giving you the hope of glory. Remember, God has already prepared everything you need and placed it within you. You do not need to ask God to give you or touch you again. You do not need God to do extra work; let Him dwell in you; He is already in you. Amen!
We should not say, "Lord, please heal me." Do you know that the power of healing is already within you? What do you need to do? Release that healing power. Can God make you prosperous now? Is the wisdom for prosperity already within you? You need to release it. Amen! Do we still need to ask for joy and peace? No, because these are things that were freely given to you when you accepted Christ; you do not need to ask for them again.
It is like one day your child says, "Please be my mom." Isn’t there something wrong with that? There is no need to ask anymore; all of this has already been given to you. Amen! We need to correctly understand what we have. Do these require faith to receive? No, what faith is needed? Just like I said earlier, if your child suddenly kneels before you and says, "Please be my mom," do you need a lot of faith to acknowledge that you are their mom?
What does this indicate? It indicates that you might not be. Does this require faith? No. Let me explain what faith is. Faith refers to the things hoped for in the future, not things from the past. Faith is believing that this thing will definitely happen afterward; this requires faith to receive. Amen! It is about things that will happen in the future. For facts, you only need to acknowledge them. Do not say, "Lord, please give me faith to believe that you are my Lord." Is that necessary? You believe He is your Lord, and even if you lack faith afterward, is He still not your Lord? Will that change? No, you need to know Him more. Everything you need has already been prepared in Christ.
For example, do we need wisdom? Many people often say they especially hope God will greatly bless them in prosperity and wealth, wanting to earn more money. What they need is wisdom. Many people hope, "Lord, please send money down from heaven." You do not need that. What God wants to give you is wisdom, which will generate endless wealth. This is what God wants to give you. Just like I have always told others, giving someone a fish is not as good as teaching them how to fish. Jesus did not just give you a penny; Jesus gave you Himself. Do you know what that means? The more you know Jesus' abilities, the more you possess those abilities.
Why do I want you to look at the Bible? It is to let you see how great Jesus' abilities are and how much He loves you. When you look at Jesus, it is like looking at the potential within you. Is there a lot of potential development in the world? He can tell you how much potential you have. Your potential is limitless, but he cannot clearly define how limitless it is. What we can clearly say is that the more ability Jesus has, the more potential you have. This is very important and requires us to renew our thoughts. You do not need anything else to enter into Christ; you are already in Him. So you need to know Jesus Christ more, and you will possess His wisdom and knowledge, and then you can draw it out. Amen! How to draw it out?
Colossians 2:6, "So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him."
Brothers and sisters, is listening to sermons and reading the Bible good? If it does not come out, it is just knowledge. The truly useful part is what we receive. Many people only receive things in their heads, thinking this is indeed quite good, and this evangelistic meeting is good... but after going home, they forget it all. Are there many things in the world that make us feel good? Going to the cinema to watch a big American blockbuster, you might say it is fantastic, but after coming out, what do you remember about it? You just think it is good. That is just the impact of sensory hearing and vision, which does not have any effect on your life.
Children see things differently from us. If a child watches a science fiction movie, do you know what they will do? They will imitate it. We are smarter than children; we say this is a science fiction movie. A child holding a gun thinks they are Ultraman going to save the earth. You would not do that because you are too smart. Why do children often have more faith than we do? It is very simple; they believe simply. They hear it and use it. In this respect, they are stronger than us. I also hope everyone in the word will renew their thoughts, meaning that whatever you understand this week, live it out as much as possible. It does not matter how much you can receive this time; the key is how much you can live out from what we share this week. That is enough.
"So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him." This is really simple. You have received life by the grace of God, which you did not deserve; it is not something you earned. You just came before God as you are, accepted Jesus as your Savior, and then you have the most powerful miracle in the world, which is salvation.
You can also accept His life, receive His new life, and you possess the likeness of Jesus Christ. Then all the richness of Christ exists within you. Amen! You no longer need other powers outside of Christ to help you obtain a new life. God has completed all of this. What you need to do is very simple: let your mind be continually renewed.
In the spirit, you have already received everything in Christ. What you think about all day long is your current problem. People always need to let the word enter their spirits, but this statement is not correct. Many people say to hold spiritual meetings to renew your spirit. Is that correct? Does your spirit need to be renewed? Is the spirit in me the same as the Holy Spirit? If they are two, there is a problem. Since it is one spirit, does it need to be renewed? No, what needs to be renewed is our soul. In theological terms, it is spirit, soul, and body. Do you understand? The spirit is the Holy Spirit, the soul is intellect, emotion, and will, and the body is our physical body.
After Adam and the animals were created, animals have souls and bodies, which we can see. The soul part of animals is the same as that of humans, but animals' intelligence is much lower than ours. However, it cannot be said that they have no intelligence. Can they recognize their own offspring? So they also have intelligence. Do they have emotions? If a wolf's cub is stolen, the mother wolf would be furious because of the emotion; she knows that is her child.
Do they have willpower? Do animals want to eat something good? Do they want to enjoy life a little better? Yes, they do. Are these things present in humans? Well, the body is the same; they are all visible from the outside. The soul and body are the same in animals and humans; the only difference is that we have a spirit, while animals do not.
The moment you accept Jesus, the Holy Spirit enters you. From that point on, God no longer sees you as a being similar to an animal but as a living person with a spirit. In Ephesians, it says, "You were dead in your transgressions and sins," and He made you alive. To be made alive means that the Holy Spirit dwells in your heart, and you have become a living person with a spirit. In God's eyes, you are a person who has come to life. When you have God's spirit within you, you can understand spiritual matters. No matter how you explain it to animals, they cannot understand these spiritual matters. Even if some animals have particularly high intelligence, they still cannot comprehend.
Now you need to determine that your spirit is complete. The only part that needs to be renewed is your soul. Do you know which part people are always updating? Both believers and non-believers are updating their bodies. Why do people get facelifts? Why do they go to the gym? They want to update their bodies. Why do people get injections to keep themselves looking young? They do not want to age prematurely; they want to maintain their youth. Are these not all about updating the body? But do you know what influences the body? If one does not believe in Jesus, it is actually the soul that influences the body.
If a person is angry every day, rest assured! Their body will not be in good shape and will age much faster than others. If a person is cheerful and speaks positive words to themselves every day, their body will indeed be much stronger than others, even if they are non-believers. So what is the difference between us and them? If we update our bodies based on the soul, that will not last. This means that non-believers rely on feelings, and feelings are actually part of the soul.
Today, one may feel great; tomorrow, they may feel bad. Today, when I talk to you, it feels great, but after a while, when I talk to someone else, it feels bad again. This kind of feeling cannot be relied upon; it changes too quickly.
You cannot rely on these soul parts to influence your life. You should rely on the spirit part because the Holy Spirit is complete and unchanging. After we believe in the Lord, does the soul still play a role? Yes, it does. Now let me formally explain this to you. I previously talked about spiritual warfare. Do you remember how I explained it to you? It is the struggle between two kinds of thoughts. Now, using spirit, soul, and body makes it easier to understand.
One is the thoughts of the Holy Spirit's words, and the other is the soul's, which is your past worldview, values, and outlook on life. On one side is the Holy Spirit, the biblical way. When a problem arises, you will definitely choose either to solve the problem according to the past worldly way or according to the spiritual way. You have to choose one.
Christians will have a struggle because they feel both seem okay, so they do not know which one to choose. Or they feel neither is reliable and do not know which one to choose. Why do non-believers not have these struggles? They do not have the spirit part, so they only have this; they can do whatever they think is good.
Brothers and sisters, now I want to tell you about the soul part. If you do not use the Holy Spirit's words to renew it, the soul will not grow. This is why many people have believed for thirty or fifty years and are still the same. Every time it comes up, they sigh, "Does God really love me?" They are still like this because the soul part has not been renewed at all. Now what does God want us to do? Renew our minds and be transformed. Since you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, you should live according to Him. This means living like Him. Amen! Let’s look at a passage of scripture.
Colossians 2:8-9
See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form.
Paul again advises the Colossians to be careful, lest anyone take them captive through his philosophy. On one side is the Holy Spirit's words, the words of Christ. On the other side are these worldly philosophies. Are there truths in these worldly philosophies? Yes, there are truths; do not deny them. They sound very reasonable, but many of these things conflict with God's words. In such cases, what do you do? You must be careful, lest anyone take you captive through his philosophy and hollow and deceptive words, which are not according to Christ, meaning they are different from Christ's words.
There are many things in the world that are consistent with Christ's words, but many are not. What do you do when they are not the same? Do not believe; choose to believe the words of Christ. Amen! This is actually the spiritual warfare. You must be careful; this is an old English word meaning to engage in battle. This discussion is about war, meaning you must be vigilant that we are in a battle. What about the devil? He uses some people's philosophies and hollow and deceptive words, which are not according to Christ. His purpose is very simple: to steal, kill, and destroy. He wants to take something from us. He is like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.
How does he do this? Do you know the devil has no power? He only attacks people through the law, condemning them to death. If he had the direct ability to kill people, there would be no people left in the world. Because he does not have that ability, he can only use the law and some wrong things...
But someone might say, "Since the devil does not have that much power, why do people still fall for it?" This is the devil's cleverness. Although he has no power, he is the most cunning. What he is best at is lying. Do you know that lies can destroy a country, a family, and a person's entire life? He keeps telling you lies, making you believe that this is true and making you not believe that truth. This is the most dangerous.
Did Adam and Eve fail this way? If they did not believe the devil's words, they would not have died or fallen into sin. Are Christians like this? If they do not believe the devil's lies, they will not fall for it. So what this refers to is that you need to change your thinking to be completely consistent with God's words. When your thoughts align with Christ's words, the devil has no power to attack you.
When he deceived Adam and Eve, in what form did he appear? In the form of a serpent. Have you ever thought about why he appeared in the form of a serpent? Why not as a giraffe or some other animal? If it were a giraffe or a big bear, Adam would be scared because they are obviously much taller than him...
But now he appears in the form of a serpent. If you grab it, it is soft and seems to have no power. At this moment, people are most easily deceived by it because it seems to have no power. In reality, he is a clever deceiver. He deceived Adam and Eve in the form of a serpent; he has no ability to force you to do anything.
What do you do when a lion is chasing you? You have to run because you feel its power is greater than yours. But what if a snake is chasing you? You can just hit it with a stick and kill it; it has no power. You will find that the devil has no power to coerce you, but what he fears most is that you believe his lies. These things happen in your thoughts. I want to emphasize again that the devil cannot make you sick, cannot make you poor, cannot make you angry, cannot make you depressed or discouraged; his power is zero.
Jesus defined the devil as having nothing in Him. You should also look at it this way. Do not listen to those in some gangs saying the devil is very powerful. They keep proclaiming how powerful the devil is. Jesus never said how great his power is; he is just a clever deceiver. The characteristic of a deceiver is that he is hard to guard against. If you are not careful, you will fall for it. After falling for it, you will wonder how you fell for it again. Some people's deceiving skills are so high that you cannot guard against them.
There is a joke about a village where there is a particularly skilled deceiver. This person can lie without needing to draft anything. One person was unconvinced and said, "I have encountered many deceivers in my life. I do not believe this person has such high deceiving skills. He is lying in front of me, and I cannot see through it?" So he decided to visit him. Just as he reached the village entrance, he met that person.
He said to him, "I heard your lies are particularly clever; I want to see for myself."
Guess what that person said? "Can you wait a moment? I have something to do. Can you come back after I return? Just wait here for an hour, and I will be back soon."
He said, "Okay."
As a result, he waited until the next day, and that person still had not returned, making him very angry. The next day, that person came back.
He said, "Why did you come back so late?"
That person said, "Did you not want to experience my deceiving skills?"
Did he not fall for it? He fell for it right then. The best way to deal with the devil is not to engage with him, not to let yourself fall for his tricks. The best way is to not engage with him and to hold onto God's words. You can say whatever you want; I will not engage with you. I will not listen to you; I will just believe that God's words are true. That is enough. You can say I am foolish; that is fine! I will just believe God's words. Hallelujah! Please remember, his only power is deception. Once you know this truth, deception has no power over you because you possess the truth within you. Amen!
Why do I always emphasize that everyone should understand the truth and what we have in Christ? Because Satan does have a considerable influence on our lives, but if you know the truth, you will not be deceived. Many people tell you to be careful of this heresy or that heresy. I have told many people in the past that the simplest and most effective way to identify counterfeit money is to continuously recognize real money. There is no need to spend time studying all kinds of fakes; you just need to study the real thing thoroughly, and when a fake appears, you will recognize it.
Be careful, lest anyone take you captive through his philosophy. The term "take captive" is a specialized term from past wars, meaning you become someone else's spoils of war. Human philosophy, hollow and deceptive words, human traditions, and the elementary principles of the world take you captive. You know that in the past, when one side was completely defeated, when cleaning the battlefield, they took away all valuable things. This actually expresses the meaning that if you do not live according to Christ's words and believe in these worldly philosophies, hollow words, traditions, and elementary principles of the world, it means you have been taken captive by them. Everything you have will be taken as spoils of war, and naturally, you will become poorer and poorer. Do you understand now?
The current question is, in the spiritual realm, who is the victorious side? Jesus is the victorious side. But why do we feel we have failed? Because you do not know that the enemy has already failed. You let the enemy make you feel like you are the one who has failed, so he has the opportunity.
Brothers and sisters, in the past, when they were victorious, they would strip away the clothes, weapons, jewelry, and gold from the defeated. Any valuable thing would be taken away. Here Paul tells the Colossians to be careful, lest you be taken captive. How do you apply this phrase? You must be careful not to let anyone take away what God has already given you.
Let me give you a simple example. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth and all good things, giving the world to Adam and Eve to manage, which means He gave them the authority to manage it. Later, after Adam and Eve fell for the serpent's trick, they handed over the management authority of the world to the devil. This is how they were taken captive. Why does the Bible say that the devil is the ruler of the air now? It is because Adam gave that authority to the devil. Do you understand?
He took away what originally belonged to us, and we lost everything, so there is sin, death, sickness, and all kinds of things we do not want to see in this world. What can we do about it? Can we take it back by ourselves? No, we cannot. Now remember that Jesus has already won and has taken back everything you lost from the devil and has given it back to you. But you must hold on to it; do not let these things deceive you again. You have already won, but if someone says a few words, you give it back to them. Isn’t that a pity?
This is the problem many Christians face. Have they received these things? Yes, they have. But why do they still not have them in the end? Because after receiving, they give them back again. Is there not a lot of this in the history of war? When a king is captured and is about to be killed, he says, "If you do not kill me, I have many treasures in my palace. As long as you let me go, I will treat you well..." If you let him go, he will kill you. Aren’t there many such fools? This is being deceived by his lies, philosophies, and logically sound arguments, and then you are taken captive.
So if you do not understand the truth, you will indeed hand over everything Christ has given you again and believe those lies, just like Adam and Eve did. But all these lies have one characteristic: they are not according to Christ but according to human traditions and the elementary principles of the world, which are completely different from Christ's words. Now I want to ask you something. If someone speaks words that do not align with the Bible, that do not align with the truth, what will you do? Just throw them away; there is no need to discuss them.
What you should fear most is, "Oh! Why did he say that? Can you tell me why he said that about our Lord? Let’s discuss what he got wrong..." Is it necessary? No, it is not necessary. If it is wrong, there is no need to give him even the opportunity to discuss it. Do not discuss it. Amen! Now you need to understand this; it is really important.
Many Christians actually have their own set of ideas. When they hear someone say that healing is God's will, they remember this idea but do not meditate on its meaning. For example, today we tell brothers and sisters, "By the stripes of Jesus, you are healed." Is this a truth? Does every person who hears this believe it? But why can some people not apply it? The reason is very simple. After you hear this sentence today, did you seriously meditate on it when you got home?
A cow keeps eating grass, and its stomach is full of grass. Then it needs to find a quiet place to sit down comfortably and regurgitate what it has eaten to chew it again and eat it again. This is called ruminating, right? In fact, this is called meditation. It is to go over it again and again. So listening to a sermon is not a one-time thing. After hearing this truth, you need to constantly think about it when you get home. The original meaning of meditation is to quietly ponder it repeatedly. In the process of pondering, you need to think about the truth about Jesus and turn that word into a part of your body, allowing it to permeate your heart and change your thoughts. When real problems arise, you can still use it. The problem is that many people know it, but when problems arise, they still use their old thoughts, so their actions will naturally be the same as before.
Many people during their growth period are instilled with the idea that they are just ordinary people. Some people in their families are constantly instilled with a wrong idea. For example, some people are physically weak, and every time the flu comes, they are the first to get sick. After four or five years of this, they come up with a "truth" that every year when spring flu comes, they must buy some medicine to keep at home. What is the purpose? Because every time the flu comes, they catch it; if others get infected, they will get infected too. If others do not get infected, they will still catch it, so they need to prepare in advance this year.
Do you know why they have this action? Because they already have an idea inside them, which is called thinking. They have anticipated that they will definitely get sick. This is their way of thinking. Many people do not feel surprised by getting sick because they think it is too normal. Some people grow up in illness and get sick from a young age. Is this normal? You must not think this is normal; if you think it is normal, it will be troublesome. This is the way we need to change our thinking. Amen!
Mark 9:20-27
So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “If you can?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.” Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.” The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently, and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.
Is this passage a very simple matter? There is a very important truth in it that I want to tell everyone. Let me ask you a question: Why did Jesus ask the father, "How long has he been like this?" Many times when Jesus casts out demons, does He need to ask when they entered? No. Why did He need to ask so clearly this time? Moreover, the Bible also records this matter. The father answered that it had been since childhood.
And the father can still remember what happened to his child when he was young.
Look at verse 22; he describes it in such detail: "It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him." In fact, what Jesus wants to renew is the father's thinking. When a person has been sick for a long time, what is the first thought you have when you see that sick person? Is it easy to treat? Why do you think it is hard to treat? Because the time is too long. We form a way of thinking, and this way of thinking makes us feel that it is impossible. He has been sick since childhood; he is already a patient, and this matter is very difficult to change. Why did Jesus ask him how long it had been? In fact, when a person has been sick for a long time, the sickness not only enters their body but also enters their thoughts.
When a person has been depressed for a while, they will define themselves as a depressed patient. If they search online for the characteristics of depression, rest assured! Even the symptoms that have not yet occurred in you, you will eagerly anticipate their occurrence. What is most prevalent in us? It is these thoughts. When a person is diagnosed with cancer, and the doctor tells them what will happen... they remember these things in their hearts. Do you know how harmful this is? They will expect those symptoms to appear every day. This means that the sickness has not only entered their body but also affected their thinking, and in the end, they will be very fearful. Many people do not die from the disease itself but die from fear, scared to death.
In spring, some may develop spring pollen allergies; this is also a kind of thought pattern. Every year when spring comes, during the windy season, they will have allergies and breakouts. The next year, they think, "I am allergic." Who told you this? This way of thinking tells them that their constitution is like this, and this has already affected them because they think about this disease all their lives. This is the problem. Even if Jesus heals them today, if this thought does not change, they will still expect this to happen next year.
Therefore, before receiving healing, the first thing to do is to change the thinking. Why does Jesus say to those He heals, "Your faith has saved you"? Then He says, "Get up! Take your mat and go home." Why does He first tell them these things? It is to change their thinking, to let that person know, "I have forgiven you, I have accepted you, I have already healed you, so you can go." To remove these fixed thought patterns.
If these are not removed, even if you hear a truth, "By the stripes of Jesus, we are healed," if you only have this way of thinking and do not know where the source of His power is, when you go home and think about other things, those worldly things will influence you.
In Proverbs 23:7, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he."
You can have a thought, constantly meditate on it, "By the stripes of Jesus, I am healed." Deepen this thought into your heart, making it a part of your body, so you will see yourself as healthy. How can this situation be manifested? Regardless of whether there are symptoms outside or what the external situation is, still believe you are healthy. Our faith is based on something; it is different from the fantasies of the world. Our faith is to truly believe that God has already healed me, so I am not affected by these external symptoms. No matter how the external symptoms are, just believe that I am healthy, and declare every day that I am healthy. This is transforming your thinking, applying this word to yourself. Hallelujah!
In that case, you will not say, "At this age, I should get some syndrome; I am already at this stage." You will not conclude this for yourself. Why did Sarah not have menopause? Was she not a woman? Was she not old enough? The reason is very simple; she did not have these things inside her. The more rational things you know, the less benefit they will bring you. You need to know more about the truth of Christ and continuously refresh your thoughts with the truth of Christ. Amen!
Adjust your focus, let the words of Christ become your thought pattern, and often meditate on God's promises; that is what you should do. Amen!
"By His stripes, I have been healed." If you believe this and often meditate on it, not accepting any disease, then those diseases will have no way with you. I know many people have some thinking problems. For example, hereditary diseases in the family; if their parents died of a certain disease and their grandparents also died of a certain disease, what will they think? "I guess I will be the same." You should remove this because at the moment you believed in Jesus, all curses were broken, and you are no longer related to those things. In fact, these things have already happened in your spirit, but you need to completely believe in your soul, in your will, emotions, and thoughts, so that your spirit and soul reach a high level. Amen!
The spirit does not need to be renewed; what needs to be renewed is our soul. We need to update our intellect with God's intellect, update our emotions with God's messages, and update our thoughts with God's thoughts. This makes it simple. Hallelujah! Thank you and praise the Lord! This is regarding health. Recently, too many people have asked me, "Teacher Ren! How can the economy turn around? I have accepted grace for a long time, but my economy still cannot turn around. I have heard many pastors' sermons, but what should I do if it still does not turn around?" It is still here (thinking). Before you see the numbers of currency growth, the first change must happen here (thinking). Many people’s problems are poverty thinking.
Let me give you an example. Some people like to choose the cheapest item when shopping. I am not saying this is bad, but if you always choose the cheapest, this is not the best practice. Buying the cheapest item will definitely not last long, and in the end, you will have to spend more money to buy another cheap one. As a result, it will not last long, and the person who buys a good one will use it longer than you. In the end, you will find that you have lost out.
Some people like to buy cheap apples, saying, "Five dollars for a whole bunch!" I did not have the heart to tell her. The next day, the apples start to rot from the core. The first day, the few you eat are fine, but by the second day, the core starts to rot. By the third day, because there are too many and you cannot finish them, when you cut them open, half of them are rotten, and you end up throwing the rest away. The truly edible ones are just those four or five. Did you really save money or spend more? You spent more.
Brothers and sisters, where is the problem? It is not that we should buy luxury goods; it is just that you should not have a poverty mindset. Amen! Many people seem to have a compulsion; if there is something free somewhere, they rush to it. If there is a discount somewhere, they rush to it. But have you ever thought about it? There is a cost to it. This point is very clear to us; I do not need to explain too much. I just want to tell brothers and sisters that what needs to change is this poverty mindset. Amen! How to change? Use biblical verses to change yourself.
2 Corinthians 8:9, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich."
Is this not the inheritance God has given you? Brothers and sisters, this is what God has given you. God hopes you are prosperous, to use that prosperity to spread the gospel and help more people. God hopes your possessions are flourishing so that you can manifest Jesus' love to those in need. What needs to change is the poverty mindset. Do not distance yourself from prosperity; do not distance yourself from health. You need to renew your mind and be transformed, filling yourself with God's promises. You need to say, "I can become the person God hopes I will be." Amen!
Once this (thinking) changes, do you think making money is still difficult? Do not forget that your supply on earth comes from heaven, where there is no economic crisis. In any era, there are always prosperous people. As long as God gives you wisdom, you will possess prosperity and flourishing. First, we need to change ourselves here (thinking) using God's words to change our thoughts. Hallelujah!
Isaiah 26:3-4, "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal."
God has already told us that He is the one worthy of your trust and reliance. When you understand all of this, please remember that He is your focus. Use God's truth and God's words to meditate often. Everything you need is already within you. Let’s first look at this: When Jesus came, His first message was, "The kingdom of heaven has come near. Repent and believe the good news!" Why did Jesus choose to let people hear the message of repentance first when He came to the world? Today, many people preach repentance, which means to confess sins. They believe everyone has sinned and needs to repent. In fact, the repentance Jesus spoke of is not about confessing sins but about renewing and transforming the mind. Renewal of the mind and transformation is actually the form of repentance. If you are unwilling to change, you are essentially rejecting a new way of thinking.
Brothers and sisters, do not think of repentance as just a term, merely something emphasized in theology. Is repentance important to us? Originally, God was over there. When I need to repent, it proves that my focus is not here. Perhaps my focus has already shifted to here, so God says you need to repent. What should you do? You need to change your thinking. God is not over here; it is useless to try to repent while striving to look over there. What you need to do is turn back and focus on God. This is repentance. After focusing on God, it is actually your mind being renewed and transformed.
So the term repentance means not only to change but also to turn around. Turning around means you are looking at a fruit, but it is actually a change in thinking. How do you change your thinking? It is actually very simple: put down the traditions of the past, the inherited philosophies, and replace them with God's words, the words of Christ. Some people say, "What should I do if I have depression?" Use God's promises to meditate every day and replace those thoughts of depression. This is simple.
I have told everyone before that if there is dirty water in a cup, how do you make that cup clean? Some people say to scrub the cup with a brush. That is one method, but what if it does not get clean? In fact, there is a simpler method: put it under the faucet, turn on the water, and keep washing it... It will become clean, and from then on, it will always be clean. If you wash a quilt and put it somewhere, will it not get dirty again after a while? If you keep it under the faucet, as long as the water is clean, the cup will always be clean. This is what I mean by renewing and transforming the mind: let Christ's words fill you every day and renew you. As long as you have thoughts that are different from Christ's words, remove them and live according to God's words. Rest assured! Health, healing, and prosperity will follow. So, renewal of the mind and change; we will continue next time.
Let us pray together.
Heavenly Father, we thank and praise you! Thank you for letting us know that we need to renew our minds and be transformed. We have accepted the Lord Jesus and should live according to your words because when we live it out, it will change our lives. I do not want to conform to this world; I am willing to renew my mind and be transformed, willing to know more about your good, pleasing, and perfect will because your will is good for me. Lord, thank you for helping me and renewing me with your words. I am willing to witness your words this week and experience your words. All glory be to you! In the name of the Lord Jesus, we pray. Amen!