Transforming Minds: Embracing Discipleship in God's Kingdom
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"I urge you, therefore, brethren, as Paul says, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God. to God, which is your reasonable service, your reasonable service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind." [00:02:03]
"I think that what you hear about people trying to do something different is generally ill -advised and is not likely to happen. On the other hand, I believe that we can do much better, and I believe firmly that there is nothing wrong with the church that a clear -minded, resolute application of discipleship to Jesus Christ would not cure." [00:05:38]
"The new or renewed mind goes with transformation into conformity with God's world, that is, the kingdom of God. So the transformation we're talking about is out of conformity to a way of occupying the mind and using the mind, into a different conformity, a conformity with God's world, the kingdom of God, with thinking conformed to the realities of the kingdom of God." [00:07:45]
"All of the problems of humanity come from thinking wrongly about God, and for that reason his name is not held to be a beautiful, sacred, wonderful thing. The importance of that is why I believe that Jesus puts that first in his model prayer, right after a recognition. Our Father, who art in heaven, comes, the first request, hallowed be thy name. And when you get that right, then everything else follows from that." [00:09:57]
"Spiritual transformation then is the process of moving from conformity to the world to conformity to the kingdom of God. That's my first way of characterizing it, and I'm going to come back to it and characterize it in other ways. It is a process, spiritual formation. It should always be called transformation because spiritual formation is simply already there, by the time you turn around." [00:13:36]
"Grace is opposed to earning, not to effort. Earning is attitude. Effort is action. If we are going to be formed in Christ, transformed into Christ -likeness and out of conformity with the world, it will be because we have done certain things. Spiritual transformation is not a passive process. It does not happen to people." [00:28:03]
"Now, spirituality in our world today has taken 1 ,800 different forms, and a lot of that was a matter of people hungering for something and not getting it from where they were. And so, spiritual growth is a matter of the individual taking on the character of Christ. And so, spiritual growth is a matter of people hungering for something and not getting it from where they were." [00:17:29]
"Paul says to Timothy, The scriptures are able to make you wise unto salvation. Now, salvation is deliverance, scripturally. That's the generic meaning of salvation. It's deliverance. And when you take the word of God in, in the scripture, it is a power that works. Hebrews 4 .12, you all know these verses. It says, It is quick and powerful. Now, to say it's quick is not to say it's fast, but to say it's living." [00:52:56]
"The church is a place where when we get in a tight spot, we shouldn't leave. For that reason. Sometimes there are reasons for leaving and going to other work, and so and so. Don't misunderstand me. But our reason should never be, well, I'm mad at so and so. That is the opportunity to work out this dimension. And believe me, is it challenging." [01:29:56]
"The real challenge facing not only the church, but the world today, is whether or not the Christians will become disciples. And in becoming disciples, become Christ -like. And in becoming Christ -like, lead the world by example and power that comes from God and not from human sources. It's absolutely essential to get out of that attitude of attack and withdrawal that I mentioned." [01:31:37]
"The big thing is for us to understand that we can change the minds of people by bringing the Scripture into their lives, and that that will transform their minds. So many of the well -known problems, like pornography, they are solved simply by training the mind differently. And they are hopeless if you don't retrain the mind." [00:59:36]
"Memorization is fundamental to our lives. spiritual transformation. And I work with this all the time, like in a retreat, I normally will ask the retreatants to memorize Colossians 3, 1 through 17. And I watch the effect, often to their own astonishment, of memorizing passages of Scripture." [00:57:40]
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"I think that what you hear about people trying to do something different is generally ill -advised and is not likely to happen. On the other hand, I believe that we can do much better, and I believe firmly that there is nothing wrong with the church that a clear -minded, resolute application of discipleship to Jesus Christ would not cure." [00:05:38]
"The new or renewed mind goes with transformation into conformity with God's world, that is, the kingdom of God. So the transformation we're talking about is out of conformity to a way of occupying the mind and using the mind, into a different conformity, a conformity with God's world, the kingdom of God, with thinking conformed to the realities of the kingdom of God." [00:07:45]
"All of the problems of humanity come from thinking wrongly about God, and for that reason his name is not held to be a beautiful, sacred, wonderful thing. The importance of that is why I believe that Jesus puts that first in his model prayer, right after a recognition. Our Father, who art in heaven, comes, the first request, hallowed be thy name. And when you get that right, then everything else follows from that." [00:09:57]
"Spiritual transformation then is the process of moving from conformity to the world to conformity to the kingdom of God. That's my first way of characterizing it, and I'm going to come back to it and characterize it in other ways. It is a process, spiritual formation. It should always be called transformation because spiritual formation is simply already there, by the time you turn around." [00:13:36]
"Grace is opposed to earning, not to effort. Earning is attitude. Effort is action. If we are going to be formed in Christ, transformed into Christ -likeness and out of conformity with the world, it will be because we have done certain things. Spiritual transformation is not a passive process. It does not happen to people." [00:28:03]
"Now, spirituality in our world today has taken 1 ,800 different forms, and a lot of that was a matter of people hungering for something and not getting it from where they were. And so, spiritual growth is a matter of the individual taking on the character of Christ. And so, spiritual growth is a matter of people hungering for something and not getting it from where they were." [00:17:29]
"Paul says to Timothy, The scriptures are able to make you wise unto salvation. Now, salvation is deliverance, scripturally. That's the generic meaning of salvation. It's deliverance. And when you take the word of God in, in the scripture, it is a power that works. Hebrews 4 .12, you all know these verses. It says, It is quick and powerful. Now, to say it's quick is not to say it's fast, but to say it's living." [00:52:56]
"The church is a place where when we get in a tight spot, we shouldn't leave. For that reason. Sometimes there are reasons for leaving and going to other work, and so and so. Don't misunderstand me. But our reason should never be, well, I'm mad at so and so. That is the opportunity to work out this dimension. And believe me, is it challenging." [01:29:56]
"The real challenge facing not only the church, but the world today, is whether or not the Christians will become disciples. And in becoming disciples, become Christ -like. And in becoming Christ -like, lead the world by example and power that comes from God and not from human sources. It's absolutely essential to get out of that attitude of attack and withdrawal that I mentioned." [01:31:37]
"The big thing is for us to understand that we can change the minds of people by bringing the Scripture into their lives, and that that will transform their minds. So many of the well -known problems, like pornography, they are solved simply by training the mind differently. And they are hopeless if you don't retrain the mind." [00:59:36]
"Memorization is fundamental to our lives. spiritual transformation. And I work with this all the time, like in a retreat, I normally will ask the retreatants to memorize Colossians 3, 1 through 17. And I watch the effect, often to their own astonishment, of memorizing passages of Scripture." [00:57:40]
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