I CAN'T CONTROL MY MIND
This would be a common
complaint of many people today and it can be very distressing to find yourself
in a "mind
Episodes can be for a few
minutes or continue for days.
We'll look at a remedy that
God suggests in His word about what to do about it.
God doesn't want your mind to
be out of control but very much in His control.
After reading this brochure,
you'll need to make a decision as to whether you want to run your mind your way
or do it God's way.
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"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the
mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable unto God... And be not conformed to this world: but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that
good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
(Romans 12:1-2)
"That ye put off concerning the former
conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
and be renewed in the spirit of your mind..." (Ephesians 4:22,23)
*****************
The two verses on the front of the paper state that
we are to be transformed in the renewing of our mind and also to be renewed in
the spirit of our mind.
"...but be ye transformed by the renewing of
your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect,
will of God." (Romans 12:2)
"That ye put off concerning the former
conversation (behaviours) the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful
lusts; and be renewed in the spirit of your mind..." (Ephesians 4:22-23)
EPHESIANS
4:24-32 THEN TELLS US HOW TO
DO IT AND
WE SEE THAT THERE IS A PRESCRIPTION TO FOLLOW:
v24 "And that ye put on the new man, which
after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
v25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man
truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
v26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go
down upon your wrath:
v27 Neither give place to the devil.
v28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather
let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may
have to give to him that needeth.
v29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of
your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister
grace unto the hearers.
v30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby
ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
v31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and
clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
v32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you."
***************************
LET'S START AT Verse 24: "And
that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and
true holiness."
Comment: You can only put on the new
man if you are born again. Only those who are saved
ETERNAL LIFE IS A FREE GIFT! YOU CAN'T EARN IT,
WORK FOR IT OR BUY IT!
The Bible says, "...the GIFT of God is eternal life THROUGH
JESUS CHRIST OUR LORD."
(Rom 6:23).The Bible says "...Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners..."
(1 Timothy 1:15) and it also says, "For whosoever shall call
upon the name of the Lord SHALL BE SAVED." (Romans 10:13)
Eternity is forever and hell is real, but if you want to be saved, trust
alone in Jesus and pray from your heart:
"DEAR GOD, I'm a sinner & deserve Your
everlasting wrath in hell. I believe Jesus died for my sins and His shed blood
was payment. I completely trust Him alone to save me. Thank you for forgiving,
me. AMEN"
Stop trusting in your "self-righteousness" & put your
trust in Jesus Christ alone and "His righteousness".
If you don't get saved, the only way you can control your mind is to do
a new age course in thought control or enroll in Transcendental Meditation
course. These courses open the mind to the demonic realm.
v25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man
truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another.
Comment: Want control of your mind?
Stop lying. Now some people don't think that little "white lies" are
lies but they are. Some people may not tell the whole truth and think that
they're not lying - but they are. Some people manage to embellish the truth or
over exaggerate their stories so that others will be impressed. This is lying.
v26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go
down upon your wrath:
Comment: There is
this stereotype that Christians should be 'door-mats' but the Bible says the
Christian is to get angry some times. (Titus1:13; Matt 23:15; 2Co 13:2 ), but
he is not to sin when he gets angry for the "wrath of man worketh not the
righteousness of God" and "anger resteth in the bosom of fools"
(Ecc7:9).Jesus was angry at nothing but sin and
v27 Neither give place to the devil.
Comment: If you
keep on nursing a grudge Satan can use this to move in (2Cor 2:10-11). The
devil can magnify the situation (1King 21:1-5) until it is out of proportion
and it can terminate in murder (2 Sam chapters 18,19) or something just as bad (Genesis 37).
v28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather
let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may
have to give to him that needeth.
Comment: Do honest
tax returns! Stop 'ripping' people off! When people are working and productive
they're not idle and don't have a lot of time on their hands to worry about
things. This has further benefits in that work can give a tiredness that can
help the person to sleep. The Christian goes beyond this and earns money so
that he/she can give to others and support the work of the gospel.
v29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of
your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister
grace unto the hearers.
Comment: What is
corrupt communication? This includes the passing on of rumors, the inventing of
slander, murmuring, complaining, the dirty joke, the off color joke, foul,
filthy, rude or obscene language. In fact anything that doesn't glorify God and
exhibit trust in His dealings in our lives. The Bible says that "out of
the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" Matt12:34. Is it honest,
true and tenderhearted?
v30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby
ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Comment: The Holy
Spirit is grieved with foolish talking, jesting, lying, indolence; laziness,
sin, uncleanness, all unrighteousness, exaggerating, self-pity, lack of
concern, lack of gratitude, lack of fruit, worrying, grumbling, murmuring,
stinginess, jealousy, false accusations, lack of faith, refusal to witness and
testify to people, indifference to the Bible, half hearted Bible reading, luke
warm prayer life, no prayer life, perversion of the truth or incorrect
doctrine, failure to praise God, failure to trust God and be obedient to God.
v31 Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and
clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice
Comment: In guiding
us to renewing the spirit of our mind, Paul gives us six negative admonitions:
1. Bitterness which is a cause to wrath and anger
2. Wrath 3. Anger 4. Clamour being one of the works of the flesh (Eph
4:31)
5. Evil speaking can cause bitterness 6. Malice which is part of the old
life.
v32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Comment: There is a
tendency to retaliate and hit back when hurt. This passage is not referring to
being sweet to the critics of God's Word but is a personal reference to the
behavior we need to exhibit to each other as Christians - and we can be very
unkind and cruel to one another. Remembering always that Christ died for us
while we were yet sinners.
SUMMARY:
There are nineteen items mentioned in this passage
that we need to adhere to in order for us to have control of our minds and to
be renewed in the spirit of our minds:
1. Put on
the new man
2. Put away
lying and speak the truth
3. Be angry
and sin not
4. Don't
let the sun go down on your wrath
5. Don't
give place to the devil
6. Steal no
more
7. Labour
to support others in need
8. Get rid
of corrupt communication
9. Minister
grace unto other hearers
10. Don't
grieve the Holy Spirit
11. Put
away bitterness
12. Put
away wrath
13. Put
away anger
14. Put
away clamour
15. Put
away evil speaking
16. Put
away all malice
17. Be kind
18. Be
tenderhearted
19. Forgive
one another
JUST PLAIN
OLD COMMON SENSE
In a nutshell,
God's word says that we should "do right" and then we'll think right,
Now God's not saying if we feel like it, He's saying "DO IT!"
Now you
won't be able to fulfill all these things in your own strength, that's why we
need to go to Him helpless and petition Him to enable us to do these things. BUT
YOU MUST MAKE THE DECISION THAT THIS IS HOW YOU WILL CONDUCT YOUR BEHAVIOUR
FROM NOW ON!
"GIGO"
There is
also an old saying that says "GIGO" - "garbage in garbage
out". Dear friend, what garbage are you putting into your mind?
SOME DON'TS: The
following will send your mind out of control:
1. Watching
more than 1/2 hour TV a day - all the images
create lust, greed, elevate the glory of man, promote foul language and offer
solutions to problems according to the world.
2. Getting
the Daily Newspapers - unless you buy them to pray over they'll just
make you depressed.
3. Buying
the Women's Magazines - they contain only lies, lust, gossip and rumor.
4. Gossip
sessions at work often serve no more value than to "tale-tell"
and slander.
Deliverance
from the "mind demons" aren't the problem - Christians won't stop
feeding the flesh of the mind.
SOME DO'S:
5. Start
memorizing Scriptures from the King James Bible. (The others are
corrupt based on corrupt Greek texts.)
6. Ask God
to enable you to pray more.
7. Think on
the corrupt nature of man - and dwell on the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
8. Start to distribute Christian tracts - leave them in letter boxes or anywhere. Start witnessing.
“I’M OFF TO VALHALLA WHEN I DIE …
I’M A
VIKING!”
By
Harley Hitchcock
www.
AustralianBibleMinistries
.com
www.AustralianBibleMinistries.com