 Okay, yeah, we'll just pray and get started. I just wanted to just remind us about the Lord's instruction in Matthew chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6 verse 25. Okay, so now this is something that we do on a daily basis. You know, if you're not careful, we can slip into this, which is Matthew 6, 25, yeah. So this is something that we, you know, sometimes we slip into this and then we think we say that, okay, it's normal. Like a lot of things are normalized in life. And just because we see everyone doing it, or you know, everyone says it's normal, doesn't make it normal. Very important, especially some of the values that we see. So we think, okay, it's normal. Why? Because that's the popular culture. That's what everyone indulges in. That's what everyone does. So I guess it's normal. If it's normal for others, it's normal for me as well. Right? So we see here a very specific instruction and it's, we can say, you know, we can say it's a command, right? The Lord is saying, you know, therefore do not worry. That's how it starts, right? Verse 25. And so which means that he's everything that he shared before comes and bears on that word therefore, right? Everything that he shared right from, you know, blessed are the poor and spirit and so on. So he's talking about everything. He's talking about, you know, is the Lord's prayer and where he's saying, you know, do not lay up treasures for yourself, etc. And then no one can serve two masters, God and money. And then he comes and says, therefore do not worry. Okay. And he's talking about very legitimate needs. Okay. Which means that these are needs and these are not luxuries or wants. Okay. He's talking about basic things, food, clothing, shelter, three very basic necessities in life, three things. And then he says that, you know, these are all things your father knows, your heavenly father knows that you have need of these things. So he's saying, you know, he's saying, he's not saying don't work for it. He's not saying don't plan about plan plan for it. Don't pray about it. But he says, don't worry about it. Right. So, and also other things, you know, we can say, okay, at least three things, he's very clear, food, clothing, shelter, I should not worry about. Okay. But what about other things in life? You know, can I worry about it? But the thing is, the Lord is saying, do not worry. And the reason is this, that he is the provider and he will make things happen. And when we seek him, his kingdom, his rule and reign in our lives, that all the other things will fall in place. Okay. And I just want to add, you know, he just said, you didn't say you don't worry, you know, you don't work for it. Right. Didn't say you don't work for it. Because one of the ways in which God provides for us is through work. Right. He didn't say don't plan for it or don't dream, you know, big things. He never said that. He said, don't worry because worry cannot help. He says, you know, how can, you know, why do you worry about clothing? Why do you worry about these things? What shall we eat? What shall we drink? After all these things, the Gentiles seek, your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. So that's the assurance. My Heavenly Father knows that I have need of all these things. Right. And he he will make sure that he'll provide and he'll provide those avenues through which these things can come into my life, what I'm going to seek him. Right. Okay. Let's pray. Let's pray and and just, if we have been worrying, we can just say, Lord, I just want to let go of that. Okay. So what is it that's worrying you today? Can we just place it, bring it before God? Maybe it's about your future. Maybe it's about your present. Maybe you're worrying about what happened in the past. You know, just bring it before the feet of Jesus. Bring it before the Lord and say, Lord, you said, do it. Therefore, do not worry. And therefore, I will not worry. No, we can just make it a simple prayer. Therefore, Lord, I will not worry because you said it, Lord. And Father, we thank you because you're our Heavenly Father. We thank you that, Lord, that you know our needs even before we ask of them, Lord, and Master, even as we, Lord, you asked us to bring our needs to you, Lord, to ask and seek and to knock God. And so we do that, Lord, and all do all that without worrying. Lord, yes, Master, Spirit of God, lead us, Lord, so that we don't fulfill the desires of the flesh and some of the desires could be to just worry and to be in that place of not making any progress. But Lord, I pray today that you will release us from that and maybe, Lord, move forward, Lord, let not worry, cripple any of us, God, in that particular area, God, and let not worry, paralyze any of us. We pray that there will be momentum, there'll be movement, there'll be breakthrough in those very things, God, even as we release these to you, cast these onto you, Lord, and cast these burdens onto you, God. We thank you in Jesus' matchless name, we pray. Amen. Amen. Okay. Inner wholeness, how's your garden? Yeah. The internal garden. Is it being nurtured? Is it full of weeds? Is it thriving, flourishing? Yeah. Okay. So we looked at some of the lifestyles of that we need to put in place. Lifestyle changes, right? And the last one we looked at was practicing the power of forgiveness. Okay. So chapter seven, we're looking at another important aspect. We've studied it before, the conquest of the mind. Okay. Just want to encourage us, conquest of the mind, the publication, the book, maybe some of you have read it. And maybe in your first years, you must have also written a review of it, have you? Conquest of the mind? No. Okay. So if you've never read it, I just want to encourage you to get a hold of it, read it. And it's a very good book on the mind. Okay. The fact that our mind is something that sometimes we neglect what goes on in our mind. So things like worry, for example. And how our mind is, that's the first thing that we're going to see that how our mind is a battlefield. Okay. A battlefield for what? Battlefield for who? Right. Battlefield where the enemy wants to really take a hold of and rain. Okay. So, you know, we can do one of the two things we can say, okay, you know, all this talk about the evil spirits and powers of darkness. Yeah, I know some extent, but, you know, maybe, you know, sometimes we just, you know, we don't think about it, right? We don't factor that in. But the fact is that our mind is a battlefield, and it is for the enemy to work on. It is for our unrenewed flesh to be even enthroned, our unrenewed flesh to take hold of us. And, and, but it is also something to be renewed. And the renewed mind is, is a, it's a powerhouse, right? A renewed mind is something that, that would just, you know, just grab a hold of whatever instructions that come from the Holy Spirit, whatever proof that is quickened by the Holy Spirit, a renewed mind is so, so powerful in the life of a believer, right? Just imagine just, you know, there is a suggestion from God, there is a whisper from the Holy Spirit, and your mind does not negate it, but just goes with it, right? Just grabs a hold of it, and, and, and it's so wonderful, right? Okay, so, so what is, what is it that come, you know, to our minds? We use our minds to, I mean, to process a lot of things, right? We analyze with our minds. We, there is sometimes even, you know, our imaginations are in the realm of our, in our mind, right? Our soul. So, what happens is that whoever has our mind has us, okay? So, so that's the thing, you know, in the sense, like, for example, if you look at advertisement, okay? So, right now, you know, if I'm thinking of clothing, you know, one thing comes to my mind, that is the recent store that I went to, which is Zodio, okay? I found that, okay, things are not so expensive. There's a good range of clothes and things. So, that is, you know, when I think of clothes, I'm thinking of Zodio, okay? So, that's been in our mind. When you think of whole drink, what do you think of? Limca, Thumbs Up, anyone else? Fruit juice, there's no soft drinks. Okay, that's a healthier option. See, but the reason we think of Limca or Thumbs Up or Coke or no, Fanta, is there's a reason, okay? Of course, you like the product, you enjoyed it. But also, there's an advertising which reiterates and reaffirms that, hey, you know, go for it. Whenever you think of a soft drink, whenever you think of, you know, you are thirsty, go for it. It's summer, you need a cold drink, go for it. So, that's why it's in our minds, right? So, that's why, you know, I said whoever has our mind has us. You know, therefore, we see that there is, you know, so much invested, every company pumps in so much of money into advertising, so much in advertising, right? And wherever we turn, you know, it need not be just the billboards, but whatever we see on social media, you know, on YouTube, there are some videos which come, advertisements which come, and of course, you have those two seconds of whatever, how many seconds to skip it, but those ads come. Why do people spend so much? You know, we think, you know, what is this? And some of these ads are not meant for you, right? Because that's why you find it boring. You're like, oh, this is, it's not for you. You know, it's for a different age group. It's for a different season of life. But they want to put it there because they want to capture the mind space. So, when you think of maybe housing, when you think of vehicle, when you think of it, a holiday, when you think of clothes, whatever, you know, you're thinking of this thing. That's what, right? So, a mind is a powerful thing, right? It's, this is what James says, you know, when James, you know, in James chapter one, he's talking about the whole breakdown of our thinking or breakdown of the process of temptation. Okay. So, what does he say? He says that James chapter one verse 13, let no one say when he's tempted, I'm tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he himself tempt anyone. Verse 14, but each one is tempted when he is drawn away, led away. Okay, that's verse 14, drawn away, we're on page 40 in the notes, drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Okay, so there is this whole place of desires, our own thoughts, our own imagination, our own desires, and we are drawn away, drawn away from what? Drawn away from maybe some decision that we, right righteous thing that we decided, he said, okay, I'm going to live like this, I'm going to live for God, I'm going to, you know, delight God's heart. This is what I'm going to do, that's the thing that you've decided, that's the thing that you're focusing on, but one is tempted when one is drawn away from that, right? What does it mean to draw, or draw away when you're drawn away, to move away? Yeah, what do you say? Yeah, so draw is more like, you know, you're pulled away and it's, it's, he says, you're pulled away by your own desires. He says there are some, some desires and you're pulled away. Now, these desires need not be bad desires, you know, it's just that these desires, the desire is to satisfy those desires in a way that is not appropriate, or in a way that is not God ordained, right? All these desires, right, they need not necessarily be wrong, but to satisfy those desires in not God ordained ways, now that's the wrong, right? Okay, so each one is drawn away, pulled away by their own desires, thoughts, imaginations, you know, and enticed, and that word used there, you know, I think it's candle on, which means that in Greek, which means it's a trap, it's a snare, okay? So entice, which means, you know, it's like, literally means a snare that is used to catch an animal, like how you can use a rat trap, right, to catch a rat, so an enticed. Then what is, you know, you're trapped with your own desires, drawn away, trapped by your desires? Verse 15, then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, okay? So it's really talking about thoughts, imaginations, desires, everything being stirred up, we've been pulled away from doing what we have actually decided not to do, or even, you know, desired the right thing to do, you're drawn away by that, and we are trapped. Then he says, verse 15, when the desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. So he's using that whole analogy of a woman giving birth and the baby growing in a woman, right, in the womb. So when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it's full grown, brings forth death. So do not be deceived, brethren. So we see that, okay, everything, this whole thing we're talking about till that person actually sins, right? Is everything is in the realm of the mind, if you look at it, right? Desires, thoughts, thoughts, desires, imaginations, drawn away again by desires, trapped along with our desires. Then, you know, there is this passage of time, or it could be very quickly, but then when desires conceived, it gives birth to sin, which means that the actual act of sin takes place, and then when it is full grown, meaning when the sin becomes a lifestyle, right? It is something that's on and on and on, and it's full grown, it brings forth death, okay? Death in various form, you know, it can be, if it's a substance abuse, if it's, you know, it can be a physical death, if it's any other thing, you know, draws away us from God's separation realm, from the source of life itself, God itself, right? So he's saying, do not be deceived. So the thing is this, that our thoughts are powerful, our mind is powerful, okay? I remember a friend of mine saying, okay, you know, no one can actually tame the mind, you know, something to that effect, and he was saying, I think, I remember we were in college and he was saying, no one, you know, he was actually, you know, we were talking about something, about giving into temptation or something, he said, no one can, no one can actually control, right? And I kind of agreed because I didn't know about all these things, right? But the fact is this, that yes, it's powerful, and yes, James one talks about, you know, the mind and in a powerful way, but in a negative way, right? It's powerfully negative to do the negative things, but the reverse is also true, right? The same way in which it can be drawn away, it can be drawn to, the same way it can be trapped, it can be actually set, the mind can be set to do the right thing, the same way, you know, even it's full grow, it says it brings death, well, it can be a lifestyle of righteousness with brings life and righteousness and so on, okay? So it's James one, you look at it in a positive way, yes, that can happen, okay? But the practice is this, you know, mind is a battlefield, so which means that certain things we need to be aware of certain things we need to do, okay? So the Bible says 2nd Corinthians 10, right? Three to five is talking about spiritual warfare, okay? So he says, let me just read that, right? Verses three to five. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, right? For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strong holds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, okay? Okay, so verse three, okay, though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, okay? So what does that mean, though we walk in the flesh? Is that what it means? Right? Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. So here in this context, flesh does not talk about undone mind, flesh does not, flesh just talks about our humanity, our natural life, okay? We live as human beings, we live in the flesh, natural human life. So he says, though we walk in the flesh, you know, this is how we do it, we live as human beings, we do not war according to the flesh, which means we do not employ natural human methods, okay? Why? Because first of all, that war is not, it's not a natural war, it's not a physical war, it is a spiritual war, right? Because, you know, where does he say we do not fight against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, right? So we know that, okay, it is not against a human being. That is why I walk in the flesh, but I do not war according to the flesh, right? And the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. What does carnal mean? Romans 8 talks about that, right? Correct. Yeah. So Romans 8 talks about, we're going to look at that, you know, Romans 8 and verse 6 says, for to be carnal minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Carnal mind is enmity against God, right? It is not, yeah. So it means that it is a fleshly, so when we say here carnal and fleshly, we're not, you know, what we're saying is it's given to, you know, human fleshly appetites, it's given to, you know, things that are not of God, not righteous, right? So we're saying, okay, the weapons are not carnal, but these are mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. So he's making that distinction. What are the weapons, these weapons, which means that these weapons are spiritual weapons and what are they used for? For pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, okay? So every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity. Okay, what does that mean? Bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Yeah, bringing every thought, it's like a, it's like bringing every thought as a prisoner, captive is a prisoner. Yeah, so bringing everything as, it's mainly like, when somebody is a captive, you cannot do anything else, right? So you're bringing thoughts, imprisoning the thoughts to the obedience of Christ. Okay, that's what he's saying. Okay, but if you look at it, what are these weapons used for? Pulling down strongholds. A stronghold is a, and it's another word, which describes a fortress or a fort. What is a fort? In olden days, the people, Jericho is a wall, the city, we read about that. It's a highly safe, very protective, I mean, very strong thing, structure, right, built of stones and et cetera, you know, and the kings, usually the rulers would be there and inside the fort. Okay, so he's saying the weapons of warfare, which are not carnal, a mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. Okay, and where are these strongholds? Where are these forts? Yeah, because he's saying, you know, if he's talking about strongholds, he's talking about arguments, what are arguments? Yeah, I mean, like, normally if you say argue, it's something that you, it's a strong, it's a strong case. Not necessarily, you can argue for something, right? It's a strong set of reasoning, it's a statement and no, not wrong, not our own understanding. When you say an argument, you know, it's a statement or a set of statements that you present for or against something, in a simple way, that is what it is. So, in our own minds, there could be arguments, you could be arguing, right? Should I do this, should I not do this, right? Should I wear this, should I not wear that, which is the a lot of argument. What should I eat today? What should I cook today? They could be, you know, these are simple things, but there could be arguments against the knowledge of Christ, right? Against the word of God. This is the argument saying, oh, yeah, no, it's actually okay. It's okay to do this. It's fine. It's okay, you know, it's okay. Just this one's, yeah, God forgives anyway. I'm the grace of God anyway. I deserve it anyway. I'm entitled to this. I'm entitled, right, to relax once in a while and, you know, I'm okay. Hey, they do it. You know, in the Western church, they, you know, they drink beer. You know, so anyway, it came with the, it came with the lunch. I didn't order it, but they brought it, right? It can be arguments, reasonings in our minds. So stronghold, we know it's a fort. It's like a strong structure in our mind. It is set, it is set about a particular matter. It is just set. And here Paul is talking about a stronghold, which is not of God. Okay, it's something that is off the flesh, something that is energized by the enemy, maybe, you know, some imagination, some thought, something which is a stronghold, resulting in maybe behavior, maybe the way we think about certain things, right, which is not of God, right, pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments, again, a set of statements, which are for something very strong case, right, we build a strong case against the truth, right, and every high thing that exalt itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, because that's where the actual problem is, right, thoughts, reasonings, arguments, imaginations, strongholds, right, all these. So he's saying that, so the thing is to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, because that's the problem. When the thought is not captive, when the thought is not brought captive to the, or it's not subject to God, then there is a problem, because thought can easily go get into the reasoning, it can get into an imagination, and it can be that desire which James talks about, because it's not a subjected, you know, it's not subject to the word, it's not subject to Christ, it is just going wild, right. So he's saying, you know, bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and here he's talking about, you know, spiritual warfare and the battlefield being the mind itself, right. Every high thing that exalts itself, where is the knowledge of Christ? You know, I have it in my mind. I know that this is what God wants, or these are the standards of God, but something is exalting itself, you know, this is where it is, the truth is, but something is trying to lift itself up above the truth of who, what God wants, etc., that needs to be brought down, right, and he says, you know, bringing every thought captive. So strongholds to be pulled down, arguments, reasonings to be cast down, bringing every thought to the obedience of Christ. So, you know, we need to be mindful of ideas, thoughts, reasonings, our imaginations. We need to be mindful because it can take us captive. It can bring us to a place of captivity. Okay, so is it easy or difficult? What do you think? Why is it difficult? If it's easy, why is it easy? Okay, everybody said difficult, so why is it difficult? So is that the method? So that's the thing, you know, once I tried, I tried, okay, I need to take every thought captive. So I'm just, you know, constantly thinking, is that, is that, you know, is that something righteous? Is that unrighteous? And by the end of the day, I was so tired, so tired, right? And that's not the way to, I don't think that's the way God wants us. So, I was constantly thinking, okay, it's not something that means convenient. When you all go to some institution, there's already more to come out of some, or something. It's not something you just say, what is it? It goes, you have to constantly think about it. Yeah, so a couple of things, right? One is our understanding that our thoughts cannot be controlled. Or maybe that's, that's what we think. No, we're saying, okay, our thoughts seem to have a mind of their own. It just seems just like a never-ending flow. I cannot control it. I cannot manage it. That's something that we think. Second thing is that, okay, it's too tiresome. I cannot, you know, how many thoughts, you know, like people say that, you know, I think somebody, I don't know how they measured it, how they actually, probably they did it in a lab and in a control setting. But, you know, when they measured it, they said there's some 30,000, 40,000, 60,000 thoughts that actually go through our minds. What timeframe is it like for one day? And one day, of course, we're talking about, you know, even when we are at rest, there are thoughts going through, right? So you can just think of, you know, on an average, this is what it is, right? So, yeah, you can, you might think, okay, it's too tiresome. It's not possible. Okay, but then when scripture says, you're taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, which means it's a possibility. Okay, that's the first thing that we need to kind of come to a conclusion in our minds. If the Word of God declares that we can take every thought captive, that means that it is possible. Okay, and it is a key or it is crucial, first step, to bringing down strongholds. It is a key to cast down arguments, reasonings, right? It is a key to not to be drawn by our desires and to be enticed. So, so that's the whole, that's the thing, you know, so that is the first step. Okay, we have a question, a question, I don't know, Jackie. So when we try to avoid an argument, because we choose to obey God, others at times think we are silent because of pride. In that case, we have to explain ourselves politely, because we, when we try to explain, there's a possibility of taking defense, and we get into another argument. Okay, so we actually, Jackie, when we say arguments, we are casting them arguments, we're talking about our own selves, right, arguments in our own minds, where we have reasoning for and against something. Okay, so you're talking about argument with another person, trying to avoid that argument. Okay, so yeah, that's a, that's a very real scenario, when we avoid an argument. And so maybe my, my, my, my suggestion could be, you know, yeah, maybe in that moment, because of emotions being stirred up, etc. Maybe you can choose a time when it's appropriate to explain. Okay, maybe that person with whom you're trying to, you know, of course, you're trying to avoid the argument, and you want to, but then you need to explain. Maybe at that point, when you're silent, I mean, it's good to be silent, because the person is not in any frame of mind to receive that, whatever you say, you know, that the person is not able to receive it, not in the frame of mind to receive. So it'd be best to, to pause and say, okay, I'll defer it to another time. I'll put it another time, explain, choose that time, and then I will explain, right, when the person is in a better frame of mind. Yeah, so that is what I would suggest. Yeah. Okay. Right, so, so what is the solution, right, to bring every thought captive? What is the solution? So the Bible talks about, you know, different kinds of minds, you know, which, which are actually, you know, what, what we saw just now, you know, a natural mind, a carnal mind, a spiritual mind. Okay. So let's look at that. Romans chapter eight. Romans chapter eight was five onwards actually. Okay, so it talks about those who live according to the flesh, set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit, the things of the spirit. For to be carnal minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, because the carnal mind is enmity against God. For it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God. Okay. So, so it talks about a state of mind, which is carnal, a state of mind which is not subject to the law of God, because it's focus, it's on the things of the flesh all the time. Okay. Now a carnal mind could be an unbeliever who has this kind of frame of mind, or it are, you know, the sad thing, or the worst part is it can be a believer, right? It can be a believer who's having a carnal mind, right? So the person is saying, okay, you know, I'm a believer, but then my mind, I'm setting on the things of the flesh, and it's the pattern of the world, it is not subject to the law of God, which means, you know, it's a very frustrating thing for the believer, right? Here's a person who loves the Lord, here's a person who wants to follow the Lord, who wants to do the things as laid out by the Lord, but the mind is not subject because the mind is set on carnal things. Okay. And so it says, it's, you know, to be carnaly minded is death, which means that eventually, because the thing is to be carnaly minded, it is so filled of thoughts, it's so filled with imaginations, reasonings, right? Strongholds maybe, and it results eventually in death, right? It leads, the path it leads to, because whatever you think in your mind is what you actually live out, what you decide or what you think is what you live, right? Yes or no? Yeah, because, you know, our mind is so set in such a way that, you know, sometimes you think consciously and you act, but you sometimes you think and you act reflexively, right? So fast, right? So suppose I throw something at you, you catch it, but you didn't even think about it, right? Or somebody throws something and your mind, you know, your eyes blink, because the dust, you don't want the dust to go and it just, you didn't even think about it, but your eyes closed momentarily, because your brain sent that signal, it was just a split second, right? And it happened. So it's such an important function. So all these things are happening to be carnaly set, means it results in such kind of behavior, such kind of action, okay? So a carnal mind results in death for this reason, it will result in a lifestyle of carnality. And, you know, one Corinthians 3 and verse 3, Paul is talking to the Corinthian Church, which is, you know, there's so much of division and strife and so on. So he's saying, for you are still carnal. So is he talking to believers or unbelievers? Believe us, the Corinthian Church, he's talking to people who are filled with the Spirit, right? He was talking to people to whom he said, you come short in no gift, right? And you come short in no utterance, knowledge or anything. Yeah, that's what he says, right? First chapter, right? That you are enriched in everything, by him in all utterance and all knowledge. Verse 7, you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus. You know, that's the state of the believer. But look at the state of the mind of such a believer. Saying, you're a carnal, I could not speak to you as to spiritual people, because there is envy, there is strife, there is division, and you're behaving like mere men, which means that you're just behaving like anyone else in the world. So that's the danger. We can be split-filled believers who come short in no gift, very gifted, right? But our behavior can be carnal because our mind is carnal. In our mind, there are these strongholds, there are these arguments, there are these imaginations, which are not being dealt with, right? Okay, so let's look at Romans 12. Okay, Romans chapter 12, verses one and two. So Romans chapter 12 is an important scripture, important key that Paul gives the believers for transformation, okay, for change, change in behavior, okay? So for change in behavior, he's not saying, okay, don't do this, don't do this, don't do this, do this. But change in behavior, he's saying, you need to be renewed in your mind. Okay, that's what we see, right? Romans 12 and verse one, he says, 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. Verse two, 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. Okay, so several things we see here. First of all, he says, you present your bodies as a living sacrifice, right? Just give your whole body, your whole self to God, wholly acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Verse one, verse two, do not be conformed, what does conform mean? Do not be conformed, C-O-N-F-O-R-M-E-D, conformed, what does that mean? Molded, don't align, sorry, don't copy or don't follow, right? It just means don't follow and the picture that is of, you know, fitting into a mold, like suppose you have, I'm sure, you know, all of us have played with clay at some point in life, right? You have, you take one daba and you put, you know, clay and then you put it out and it takes, retains that shape, right? And whatever shape of the vessel is, it retains that shape, you know, because it's clay, it's wet, moldable, so on. So suppose saying, don't conform yourself, don't be like that, see, the world has a mold, the world has a certain value, certain standards, now you don't put yourself and conform to that, be molded like that, right? So don't follow, don't set yourself, so don't conform to this world, but instead, what does he say? Be transformed. So again, there is a, you know, if you see what is common in the English language, you see that formed is there, that word that phrase formed is part of both those words, conformed, transformed, conformed, transformed, like be transformed, what does transformation mean? Change. So what kind of a change is it? Yeah, but what, yeah, that's what we want, but then it can be used negatively also, you know, like Satan transforms himself like an angel of light, right? So it can be a negative thing also, but transform, what does that mean? It means, it means a drastic change, like use the word change, but it's a, it's a very drastic change. And the Greek word used there is metamorphoo, okay, that word. Yeah, metamorphoo, which means from where we get the word metamorphosis, right? A caterpillar changing into a butterfly, going through those different stages, and the first stage and the last stage are unrecognizable, right? Caterpillar, you're saying, we're wondering, wow, is this what it is that will become this beautiful butterfly? Yes. So you're saying that can be the change, that can be the drastic change that can happen. How? By the renewing of your mind, okay? So when you say mind, we are talking about thoughts, we're talking about imaginations, right? We're talking about reasonings and everything. We're talking about, you know, what is there in our mind, goes on in our mind. So we be transformed by the renewing of your mind, okay? To renew is to make new is to renovate change, okay? Renew, make new again, change again, right? Okay, look at Isaiah 55 verses 7 and 7 to 11, okay? Isaiah 55 verse 7, let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts, okay? Ways, thoughts, behavior, thoughts. Let him return to the Lord and he will have mercy on him and to our God and he will abundantly pardon. What are the words, Lord saying verse 8, for my thoughts are not your thoughts. So he's talking about the unrighteous man who needs to forsake, unrighteous person who needs to forsake his or her thoughts and the Lord is saying my thoughts are not your thoughts, okay? So which means his thoughts are thoughts of righteousness. The unrighteous man's thoughts are maybe carnal unrighteous thoughts and he's saying, nor are my ways your ways says the Lord, for as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts, okay? So we get, we understand something here, God's thoughts and man's or the unrighteous man's thoughts are totally opposite. God's thoughts are different, the unrighteous man's thoughts are very different and the Lord says, you know, you need to forsake that, okay? So we need to forsake those thoughts. Forsake means what? What does forsake mean? God will never forsake me, but I'm called to forsake those thoughts, leave, abandon, right? Completely just leave and abandon and go. So the Lord is, you know, the instruction is that, that the unrighteous man has to forsake his thoughts, okay? So again, the question, is it possible to forsake my thoughts? It's a very practical thing, let the unrighteous man forsake his thoughts, okay? Forsake is abandoned. So abandon a way of thinking, abandon that analysis, abandon that imagination, that's forsaking, right? So is it possible? The answer is yes, it is possible, yeah? And you know, so but many times we think it is not possible, my mind is so much stronger, we feel, you know, our mind is so strong, we cannot, but it is possible to forsake our unrighteous thoughts, okay? And that's the key to a renewed mind and a renewed mind is the key to a transformed life or a transformed behavior, right? Okay, we'll stop here and then we'll come back again.