 As we start today, I just want to remind us about Isaiah 26 and verse 3, which is a promise we read here. You will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever. That's verse 4. The Lord is everlasting strength and it goes on to talk about what the Lord does. So this promise is here that the Lord will keep someone in perfect peace, one in perfect peace. And the word gives there a shalom shalom whose mind is stayed. So the faculty of thinking and imagination and everything is stayed on him. So that's a promise and we know that the example of someone whose mind was stayed on the Father was the Lord Jesus. He walked in such a way and he walked in that awesome, amazing peace. And we know that he walked in it not because he was God but because he walked as man, as empowered by the Holy Spirit as each one of us. We are, we have the privilege of doing the same thing. So when we read this verse, when we encounter this verse, we just need to tell ourselves that yes, this is a possibility. We know that sometimes temperamentally people can be easily agitated and we see some folks who will not, no matter what, they are not shaken. No matter what they are calm, nothing excites them, nothing agitates them. Temperamentally, emotionally, they are very, very, very, they are not given to emotions rather, very, very stable. But this is something that is for all kinds of people. Respect to of who they are temperamentally and what personality types and all that. When our mind is stayed on him, we have access to this shalom, shalom, this perfect peace. So the Lord promises that he will keep us in that place of shalom, shalom. It doesn't mean that we will, you know, emotionally, we will not be, you know, we will not be excited or we will not be, you know, we might not feel sadness or grief ever. But the fact is that we will experience this shalom, we will walk in the shalom, right? And it's such a great privilege. And the next verse is, of course, saying the trust in the Lord forever, trust in the Lord forever and the timeframe given there is forever, right? Trust in the good seasons, not just in the bad seasons, in the low seasons of life, but trust in the Lord forever. For in Yah, the Lord is everlasting strength. So we see two words there which talk about that time period, which is, which is never ending, right? So trust forever. And verse four, again, for in Yah is everlasting strength. Right? For in Him is strength that does not get depleted. We have access to His peace. We have access to this everlasting strength when we trust in Him and our mind is stayed on Him. Right? So let's just pray today and, yeah, let's just thank the Lord. Father, we thank you for this promise, Lord. We thank you, O God, that you have desired for us, each one of us to walk in this God. Yes, Master, even as we apply this principle of God, our minds being stayed on you, God. And Lord, we thank you that that is something that we can do. That is our responsibility, God, because you have entrusted us with self-will and the power of choice, O God. And so, God, even as we come before you, God, we trust in you, even as our mind is stayed on you, Lord Jesus. Lord, teach us to do that. Teach us, O God. And even today, right now, I pray for those of us, O God, who are having trouble in that area, having challenges in this area. Lord, who are swayed by different things and who are undergoing turmoil and storms of life. God, I pray right now, Lord, that you will enable us, O Father, God, to be anchored, O God, our minds to be anchored. Lord, in you, Jesus, our minds to be stayed on you, Father God. Lord, may your voice, your word, your principles, O God, and you, O Father God. Lord, I pray that we'll be anchored to that, Father God. Yes, Master, we'll always come back to that, O God. Let that be the bedrock of our faith, O God. And Lord, may we experience the shalom. May we experience the shalom, O God. Yes, Father God, we thank you for the in you there is everlasting strength, O God. And even as we trust in you, Father God, we thank you that you make this available for us. Even as your word says that those who trust in the Lord, those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, O God. We thank you for this everlasting strength that is available for us, O God. And Lord, we thank you and we give you praise. We commit ourselves into your mighty hands one more time. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Amen. Let me just give you a second, please. Let me just share the notes. So we've been studying about the conquest of the mind. We looked at different aspects of the mind being what it is, the way it has been designed. You know, he who has the mind has our thoughts, excuse me. He who has our mind has us. And so we see that that is something that the enemy can use to his advantage because the mind can be or is in reality a battlefield. So we saw that part of it that, well, we need to be aware, first of all, that these things are going on. So we cannot just think whatever we want and still expect to walk in peace, still expect for our actions to be righteous and holy, for our imagination to be something else, for our meditations to be something else and to expect that our lifestyle or behavior to be something totally opposite of that is not possible. We need to understand because ideas, thoughts, imaginations have consequences. They affect our emotions, they affect our behavior, they affect our lifestyle. So one needs to be mindful. And the best way to actually conquer these battles in the mind is to saturate our mind with the word of God. Saturate our mind, fill our mind with thoughts of God. So it's not about thought control but really allowing the Holy Spirit to guide us. We're just not going after each and every negative thought but really filling our minds with the word of God, filling our minds with meditating, thinking intentionally on the word of God, not just thinking, okay, I shouldn't think about that, I shouldn't think about that, I don't want to think about that. The minute we start we're actually thinking about it. Let's say when we say, okay, I don't want to think about a black dog. Immediately you think about a black dog, imagine if a black dog is in your mind, in your mind you can actually see it. So that's the thing. It is to renew our mind or fill our mind with what God wants us to think on. So rather than saying, okay, I will not think about this, you intentionally think about it. Think about the good things, meditate on the good things, meditate on the word of God and see and experience the washing of the water by the word in our own minds. Okay, so we looked at how we need to pull down strongholds and we looked at the pathway of the temptation we saw in James chapter one. Then we looked at second Corinthians 10 about pulling down strongholds and so on. So the battle in the mind in the form of reasonings and arguments and imaginations and strongholds. So today let's look at this aspect of renewing the mind. If you go to Romans 8, Romans 8 describes a mind that is not renewed. Romans 8 and maybe we can read from verse 5, Romans 8 and verse 5. It says, for those who live according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh. It's important to note that it doesn't talk about the action, but it talks about the thought. But it talks about living. Those who live according to the flesh, it talks about those who live in such a manner. But it talks about what they actually do. If a person lives according to the flesh, well, it goes beyond the doubt to state that that person is actually setting their minds on the things of the flesh. That's the root of the matter. So that's what verse 5 says, 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, again, the things of the spirit, meaning set their minds on the things of the spirit. So this is what it is. To live according to the flesh, to live according to the spirit, this is the root thing. This is the key thing, to set our mind on it. Which means our minds to be captivated by it, our minds to be full of it, our thoughts to be full of it, our focus to be that. Verse 6, to be carnally-minded is death. But to be spiritually-minded is life and peace. So this is the end result of a carnally-minded, end result of a spiritually-minded lifestyle. To be carnally-minded is death. It brings about death. The fruit of it, the end result of it is death, in a sense. Well, is it talking about physical death? Death is cessation of life, where we cease to live. Figuratively speaking, we actually cease to live. We cease to live. We're just existing, maybe. We're just going through so passive and we're not really living. We're not alive, in that sense. We're not experiencing the Zoe God kind of life that God has for us or wants for us to experience. Because our actions are all different and our mind is fleshly. So it says to be carnally-minded is death. And it starts to manifest in all aspects of our lives. Relationally, it brings forth death. In terms of health, physically, it brings forth death. In terms of all other areas of our life, it brings death. Instead of bringing life and peace, it brings death. So to be carnally-minded is death. But to be spiritually-minded is life and peace. Verse 7, because the carnal mind is enmity against God. It brings forth death or it brings instead of life and peace, because God is life itself. He is the way, the truth and the life. So he is life, but our mind is not set on him. The carnal mind is enmity against God. It's totally contradicting or opposite of all who God is. For it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. It is not subject, meaning it is not brought under the law of God. It's not the will, it's not obedient to the law of God. But look at the second part of that verse. It means, nor indeed can be. It's very difficult for such a mind to have the ability. That's what it means. Nor indeed can be, meaning ability. So that kind of a mind is not able. Even if there's a glimmer of some kind of a desire or hope, it's not able because the mind is fleshly. It's not able. The carnal mind is enmity, is an enemy of God. It is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. It does not have the ability to subject to the law of God. So that's why those who are in the flesh cannot please God. But you are not in the flesh. If indeed the spirit of God dwells in you, and so on. And then we go on to verse 13. It says, if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. So a carnal mind, we just saw what a carnal mind does and what the carnal mind is capable of. So we see that it's a very serious thing indeed to have a carnal mind, to be a believer, to be a child of God and have a carnal mind is particularly frustrating. And also where it's like God has brought us into life. He has brought us into light, the kingdom of light. And we are under a different jurisdiction. We have been given the promises of God. The life of God flows in us, but something is stopping. Something is stopping that person from living the whole life. And there are all kinds of problems in the mind, in the realm of a minded emotions because of this. So that's something to really introspect and see if a person is undergoing these kind of things. What is the condition or state of their mind? Is it carnal or are they dwelling on things of the spirit? Okay. If you look at a question, someone has a question. Thank you. Thank you. My question is about people can be only in these two sections, is it? There could be people who do not completely understand or even in our own life journey. We don't completely understand the will of God and we might do things that are either by mistake or without knowledge. Or it could be even though God speaks, we go against the will of God. I don't know whether it can be labeled as carnality, but I was trying to understand whether people can be only in these two sections like spirit control and flesh control. Or is it like there are people who are growing in the Lord who may make mistakes in understanding the will of God? Now that's a different scenario altogether. Your mind is set on pleasing God. Let's say your whole posture is okay. I want to please God. I want to do things that please him. Now that's a spiritual-minded life. But in the course of that, yes, there are unfinished parts of me. I'm growing. I'm growing in sanctification. I'm growing in consecration and I'm maturing, growing in Christlikeness. So which means that in certain areas, there could be strongholds, certain areas, there could be things which are being broken down, which are being... And like we see in 2nd Contest 3, it says that we are being from glory to glory. We are being transformed into that same image. Is it 2nd Contest 3? Yeah. So as we all with unveiled face, beholding and the mirror, the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into that same image from glory to glory. So that's a different scenario. Here, the person for whatever reason, the mind is focused on fleshly things. Now, even if a person is journeying into Christlikeness, maybe there are certain things that are... The mind is focused on certain aspects of our life. You're focusing on fleshly things. But the intention is that I want to please God. I'm struggling in this area, but I want to please God. And then the Holy Spirit leads us. That's why when we walk in the Spirit as prompted, we are conducting our life, ordering our life according to the leading of the Holy Spirit. So then we align, we change, and then we move on. But if my mind is constantly set on fleshly things, that is the scenario here where it is impossible, does not have the ability to live a life of righteousness. Sure. So the people who are even growing in the Lord, we can say they are spirit led, spirit controlled. Yeah. But the thing is, there could be certain areas of carnality, maybe in some aspect of our lives. But by and large, we want to please God. For example, let's look at 1 Corinthians 3 and verse 3, where Paul is the Corinthian church. So he's saying, for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like near men? Now, this is a church who is, of course, which has experienced the gifts of the Spirit and so on. But with regard to this aspect of their lives, divisions, strife and all that, they're still carnal. And because of carnality, they're not able to receive the solid food that Paul really desires for them, God wants for them because of that. So we see that, yeah, well-meaning believers, spiritually experiencing the gifts and all that, the power of God. But in this aspect of their life, there's carnality. Yeah. Sure, sure, Pastor. Thank you. Yeah. Okay. Thanks. Any other questions? So what is the antidote? What is the solution? The solution is, of course, to renew, renovate, change, change our thinking. So I'm sure that in a secular setting or even in the media, this principle has been expounded over and over again. You change your thoughts, you change your behavior, and it holds good. It is true. But the foundation is the life and peace that comes from knowing God. It's not just changing our thoughts to something else, but it's from knowing God, knowing Him and His words. And because His word is spirit and His word is spirit, His words are spirit and they are life, life-producing. So it's not just behavior, modification, but it's also producing life in us, the word. So that's the difference. You can say, okay, what about someone who does not know Christ, who's still changing their, standing their behavior and modifying their behavior and it's just that what they speak and all that thing of NLP, neuro-linguistic programming and speaking the right words, thinking the right thoughts and result is behavior modification. Yes, that's great. But we are talking about something deeper here. We are talking about Him producing life in us where there is death, there's a leading to death, but here it is life. And of course, the whole thing is that we are connected to the wine, Jesus himself, and producing fruit. So that's the deeper, that's the bigger picture of the life of a believer. And of course, it's about the destiny itself. Where is this whole thing leading to? That's the important question. Modified behavior, I'm living a good life, but where is that leading to? Where is that destiny? That question is satisfactorily answered only when in relationship with Christ. So the key is this renewing our mind for a person who wants to come out of carnality and get into living a spiritual life and come out of all this battering that the mind receives and live a life of wholeness and unhealth emotionally. The key is renewing the mind. So Romans 12 and verses one and two, let's read that. I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. So here's a very important key for transformation or experiencing transformation in our lives. Very important key. So verse two says, be transformed. So which means that there's transformation, there's change, drastic change, like metamorphic, drastic change where one stage does not actually is not recognizable to that next stage. The first stage and the last stage are totally different. So be transformed. Experience that drastic change in your life. How? By the renewing, by the renovation, the changing of your mind and get to experience, investigate and prove and live in the perfect will of God. And verse one, it gives us certain practical things. You present your bodies a living sacrifice. So our bodies consist of all our members, all our organs of perception, our eyes, our ears, our tongue, words that we speak and so on, touch, taste and everything. So our organs of perception. So you're saying that you present your bodies to God, which means you submit, yield your organs of perception to God because that is also going to influence your thinking. That is going to influence your thinking because that is where we receive our input from. So that is going to influence your thinking. So submit first of all to God, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And the second practical thing is do not be conformed to this world. To conform means to fit in. It's like a mold where you press something into it. If you take some kind of like a soap dish or something and put wet sand or wet clay or something in it, and it takes the shape of that container. So that's the picture. So do not be conformed, do not fit in to the world. Do not be conformed to this world. Meaning the world's ways, the world's patterns for everything that is in the world. We see in one John talks about the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. So don't fit in to that, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So don't fit in to the ways of the world. So that's what it means. So whenever the world is referred to, the context is this, the world's way of doing things. Not just anything else, but the world's culture, the world's values, which contradict the word of God, which go against the word of God. So don't fit in to that. And be transformed by the renewing of your mind. In Isaiah 55 also, we see this, where the Lord says, let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. Let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways, my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher, and the earth so are my ways higher, and my thoughts than your thoughts. And then he goes on to say about his word, which will not return wide. But the thing is this, there's a right way of using this, or understanding this in a wrong way. So the right way is this, the context is that the Lord is talking about wickedness and unrighteousness, and describing that, a people who are wicked or unrighteous, or a person who is wicked and unrighteous. So he's saying, okay, the wicked, their life, the way they live is wicked or unrighteous. So let them forsake that. And saying, the unrighteous person, unrighteous man, let them leave that. Let them forsake that. What is it? Forsake the thoughts, because it's the thoughts that are leading to the ways, and it's the ways that are displeasing. And so he's saying, let the unrighteous person forsake that. And return to the Lord. He will have mercy, and he will pardon. And in that context, he says, for my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are my ways, your ways, says the Lord. So he's talking again about the thoughts of the unrighteous, ways of the wicked, whom he is instructing to forsake, the ways and thoughts to forsake. So sometimes as believers, we say, okay, this is what we are desiring, this is what we are planning, but we say, okay, but our thoughts are not his thoughts, our ways are not his ways. So that's, sometimes we use it that way. There could be truth in it, because if it's wicked, if it's unrighteous. But the thing is that, as believers, we are the privilege of being led by the Spirit of God. Romans 8, those who are the sons and daughters of God, the sons of God, this is the privilege. They are led by the Spirit of God. Then of course, the Lord Jesus says, my sheep hear my voice, they know me and they follow me. So obviously, when we hear his voice, when we are led by the Spirit of God, then our thoughts are Spirit-filled. Okay? Even in the other case, like, you know, our mind is stayed on him. Right? We looked at Isaiah 26, he's keeping us in a place of perfect peace, shalom, shalom. So our mind is stayed on him. In that case, it's not carnal, it is spiritual. Our mind is filled. We are meditating when we meditate on the Word of God. We are filled with the thoughts of God. So it's wrong to come to that conclusion. My thoughts are we think that it's a great statement of humility, but it's actually not. It's an erroneous one. So to be confident, spiritually confident and say, yes, God, this is what I've done. This is the posture of my heart. And let my thoughts be aligned. And he will, as his words saturate our, there's a rich deposit of his word and as our mind is saturated with the Word of God and as we experience transformation in our behavior and speech and so on, what is that? That's the effect of our thoughts being saturated with his thoughts, his ways. So, yeah, just wanted to mention that. So, when we renew our minds, we undergo transformation, a renewed mind results in life and peace and we are invited to live by our renewed mind. And renewed mind is also one which is which is positive in nature. If you look at Philippians 4, Paul's exhortation is Brethren, whatever things are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, good report, virtuous, praiseworthy, meditate on these things. Think deeply on these things. Think over and over on these things. So, a mind which is which is really positive. A mind which is thinking deeply on the positive things. Okay, so question here, does that mean that I can't think about problems? I can't, then how do I solve problems? How do I solve issues? Does that mean that I need to think through those things, right? So, what's the difference? What do you think? Question. In a workplace, you have to solve it with problems. In fact, we are there to solve those things. I think we are there to solve those things. And that's why we are there in the first place. Ministry, we face a lot of things, a lot of problems, a lot of things to solve. Maybe, you know, a counsellor then you're constantly hearing things. Okay, so what is the difference? Or how do I approach that? Keeping trust in God, even though there are being realistic. Like, not to deny that there is a problem but to be realistic about it and not to be worried or constantly anxious about it but trust God to work through it. So, I have heard someone saying like, when we go through a problem or a suffering rather than asking why me we can ask what through me, right? Like, what can God, what you want to accomplish through this in me. So, just having a different perspective, like a Godly perspective, that's what yeah, I understand. Thank you, Divya. That's true. Godly perspective trust. Not losing our trust. Okay, anyone else? How would you approach that? Because this is a very practical thing. This is bound to happen every day we go through this, right? So, anyone else, any thoughts? I think not taking it personally is another approach that we can think of still thinking of. Okay, personally in the sense John So, let's say for example if it is an issue or if it is a let's say an argument or something in the office or in the church so there would be reasons that we don't have to take it to our personal because of a personal matter it's not coming to us as personal matter. Maybe it is an issue, we can solve it in the superficial level itself not taking it to heart. I'm not sure if I'm making sense I'm just thinking maybe if something is directed at you personally then not to take it maybe not to be offended by it not to be let's say you preach once a day and then somebody gives a feedback faster preaching is always like this or something like that of course we can always correct but then not to let that challenge you not to let that challenge you as a person, as a child of God not to let that affect that part of that of that truth all your calling all the mission that you're on the vision then because it can maybe I'm not meant for this that's the conclusion, wrong conclusion that we can come to so I get that when you say not to take it personally just to stand on the ground of who we are in Christ yeah yeah, thank you so the thing is this there are ways where we can it is very possible you know we can be swamped overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problem by the emotion of what is happening and it can lead us into a downward spiral okay but just to look at this and the previous verse like Philippians 4-4 rejoice in the Lord always and again I will say rejoice gentleness be made to know to all men the Lord is at hand and knowing that Paul is it this is a prison epistle he's writing in imprisonment while he's in prison in Philippi and then he's writing these to people who are free gives us insight into the kind of mindset he has actually come to him as a follower of Christ as a child of God so that's a place of strength and of course Paul said imitate me as I imitate Christ that's a place of strength he's in prison he has every reason to be we can say every natural reason to complain and to say and to be sorrowful and all that while I'm sure he was aware of the reality he says because he says we die daily so he's aware of the reality that this is a dangerous thing and it's a danger to life it can just end anytime he's aware of that but he's aware of the greater reality so which is what every time we face problems every time we face challenges we have to not escape from it see one way is to just shut it down and say no there's no problem no there's no pain no there's no challenge I will not even consider it but the fact is that there is it's not escaping it's not checking out of reality but to consider it and say hey there's something greater and the reality is something else yes this is what facts are saying I'm choosing to go with that I'm choosing to go with that I'm choosing to solve these things from that perspective which is a place of great strength and so Paul is saying you know meditate on these things be anxious for nothing that's what he says before that be anxious for nothing he talks about the peace of God which will guard our hearts and minds give us that stability and strength and whatever things are true noble virtues meditate on these things so for example if I'm in a Paul is in this prison like situation so he's saying yeah this is reality I'm in prison I'm in a very uncomfortable place physically I don't know what will happen but I know the greater thing is the reality is that God is with me the reality is so that's the truth that he's not let me the one who closed the mouth of lions in the den he's the one who was there in the furnace so that's the truth so he's choosing to meditate on that he's choosing to think about that he's choosing to think about things that are pure and noble and so on he's choosing to go beyond that right so so that's the way to go about it's not delusional it's not escapist but we're choosing to go beyond that which is the next topic which is to develop a positive mindset so a positive mindset is not it's rooted in reality it's rooted in the truth because there are ways you can go wrong with it positive mindset so it's rooted in reality it's rooted in the truth so we have the negative things what is pessimistic overly negative over and over and frequently being negative never looking at the positive side of things I remember once someone telling me they had this youth I think it was a youth fellowship outreach or something and then they were all sharing other things about each other and they were about one particular person this person said I think this is a person who sees two negative signs in a positive sign if you take a positive sign you take it apart it's like two negative signs two dashes it's actually put together like this so somebody shared talking about the personality of that person so we can be overly pessimistic not even seeing the positive things seeing two negative signs in a positive sign even we can actually be in that place but to be a positive person and be a truthful person is to be rooted in the truth of God's word right so that's the thing when you say rooted in God or rooted in the truth of God's word that means to esteem God's word esteem what he declares about every situation and to hold that as the final thing to hold that as something as something precious so to honour that really that's a person who's rooted in the word of God so that doesn't mean that a person will not experience negativity not experience fear but you overcome that with the truth of God's word whatever God has spoken over you whatever was prophesied and proven and you're waiting for the manifestation of that you hold on to that right and in every situation in every situation who is God in that situation right so that's the mindset of a of a victor of a winner the mindset to have a positive so this is something that does not happen immediately like again because we're all different people with different personalities different kinds of ways we have different experiences that we have gone through so some people can see the silver lining in every cloud they are full of sunshine every morning every night even after the sun sets they are brightly shining but some melancholic by nature they always sing songs in the minor scale so that is possible but this is something that can be developed just like how the transformation of a person happens by the renewing of the mind where renewing of the mind is not something that is automatic it is intentional it is a process the same way developing a mindset which is an outflow of a renewed mind really having that outlook is also something that we can intentionally develop over a period of time so that means that the example of the 12 spies and each of their observation the conclusion of the 10 and the observation of Joshua and Caleb and the conclusion they came to totally different they saw the same thing but it is totally different they acknowledged that they were giants they acknowledged yes but the conclusions they came to were vastly different and it comes from a place of seeing things from God's perspective and we will stop here and we will continue next class and we will look at all of this thank you God bless