conformed – Praying Pint

51. Wilderness – 15.f. “Take care that you be not ensnared to follow them”

Deu 12:29-32  “When the LORD your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ You shall not worship the LORD your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the LORD hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.

Leviticus 18:3    You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes.

Psalms 106:34-38   They did not destroy the peoples, as the LORD commanded them,  but they mixed with the nations and learned to do as they did.  They served their idols, which became a snare to them.  They sacrificed their sons and their daughters to the demons;  they poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood.

Judges 2:2-3   and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you shall break down their altars.’ But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you have done?  So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you.”

Romans 12:2    Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Israel was commanded to guard itself against a sinful curiosity. Ungodly curiosity has also killed many spiritual lives. God would not accept just any offering of worship. He had to be worshipped in Spirit and in truth (John 4:24)

They burn even their sons and daughters in the fire to their gods: This referred to the practice of Molech worship, where Canaanites offered up their children by placing them alive on a burning hot metal statue of Molech, while drum beats drowned out the screams of the tortured infants.

. Israel had a tragic history of following after this horrible god Molech.

· At the least, Solomon sanctioned the worship of Molech, building a temple to this idol (1 Kings 11:7).

· King Ahaz of Judah gave his own son to Molech (2 Kings 16:3).

· One of the great crimes of the northern tribes of Israel was their worship of Molech, leading to the Assyrian captivity (2 Kings 17:17).

· King Manasseh of Judah gave his son to Molech (2 Kings 21:6).

· Up to the days of King Josiah of Judah, Molech worship continued, because he destroyed a place of worship to that idol (2 Kings 23:10).

The standard for worship was reflected in God’s Word – not in human preference or opinion. (Guzik)

When the Lord had cut off the nations of Canaan from before the Israelites, they were to take heed that they did not get into the snare behind them, i.e., into the sin of idolatry, which had plunged the Canaanites into destruction. (Keil_

We might not sacrifice our children on a fire or even think of doing it, but in a way, our culture has fallen away from God and turned their backs to Him, His Word, and His ways. We might not see an idol but there are certainly things that are cherished and worshipped in place of God. God’s Word is clear on being influenced by the world and what it deems important and worthy of our time, thoughts, and actions. We are to live in it but separate from its influences.

I can remember a discussion with the first pastor I learned from after I was saved, Pastor McClunn. In or around 1980 we were talking and he said, “I have seen something that is troubling. Whatever the world is doing right now and the church recognizes it as not good or right in the eyes of God or does not bring honor and glory to Him, the church will adopt within 10 to 15 years.” He is probably not the first person to say something like this. It has stuck with me for 44 years.

Thoughts about what is right and wrong, good and bad, or true and false are being eroded away little by little. When the Word of God used to be studied and people met regularly for bible study and worship and fellowship there was discernment. Now the study of the Word of God is watered down to a verse per day or some devotional pamphlet that has a nice short story tied to a verse. I might be generous here. There might not even be a daily look into God’s Word. More than likely it might just be once per week at church. Churches try to entice “bible study” by developing a plan of reading. This is not wrong but to read and not study is. New plans to engage are developed every year. New music is sung. New classes are taught. New sermons are preached. All in an effort to do what? To what end are we trying to achieve?

If there is no personal conviction to repentance, no discernment between what is worldly and what is Godly, no recognition of the influences of the world, no desire to know God more and more, no continual growth in understanding the Holiness of God, no discernment of the sinfulness of sin, no means by which to gage maturity in God’s Word and things of God, then people will do what seems right in their own eyes and soon will adopt things of this world into the church. In Revelations 3:20 Jesus was speaking to the church in Laodicea and said; “behold I stand at the door and knock”. Jesus wanted them to know that they had wandered away so far that he wanted to be allowed back into the church. How sad is this? How relevant is this today? If Paul and the writer of Hebrews commented on the state of mind of the believers in the churches the letters were sent, calling them infants, eating baby food, and not able to digest solid food, what would he say now?

The influences of this world are real and they will not be discerned by babies. Babies will put anything into their mouths and not know if it is good or bad for them. Likewise, babies in the Word of God and things of God, believers will put things of this world into their lives not knowing if it is good or bad.

31.t. “They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works”

Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Luke 6:46     “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

Titus 1:16    They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.

James 1:22    But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

Romans 12:2    Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Malachi 3:17-18    “They shall be mine, says the LORD of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him.  Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.

2 Timothy 2:19    But God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

This warning of Jesus applies to people who speak or say things to Jesus or about Jesus, but don’t really mean it. It isn’t that they believe Jesus is a devil; they simply say the words very superficially. Their mind is elsewhere, but they believe there is value in the bare words and fulfilling some kind of religious duty with no heart, no soul, not spirit – only bare words and passing thoughts. (Guzik)

This warning of Jesus applies to people who say “Lord, Lord,” and yet their spiritual life has nothing to do with their daily life. They go to church, perhaps fulfill some daily religious duties, yet sin against God and man just as any other might. “There are those that speak like angels, live like devils; that have Jacob’s smooth tongue, but Esau’s rough hands.” (Trapp)

By saying “in that day” Jesus drew our attention to a coming day of judgment for all men. “What is the chief object of your life? Will you think as much of it “in that day” as you do now? Will you then count yourself wise to have so earnestly pursued it? You fancy that you can defend it now, but will you be able to defend it then, when all things of earth and time will have melted into nothingness?” (Spurgeon)

In the end, there is one basis of salvation; it isn’t mere verbal confession, not “spiritual works,” but knowing Jesus and being known by Him. It is our connection to Him – by the gift of faith that He gives to us – that secures our salvation. Connected to Jesus we are secure; without connection to Him all the miracles and great works prove nothing.

Doing what God wants us to must come from instruction and guidance. Scripture tells us that we learn this precept upon precept, line upon line, here a little and there a little. How many of those that hear “Depart from Me” spent little to no time in His Word for their hearts and minds were captured by things of this world? How many of these people attend church regularly? How many play church and are void of Jesus Christ in their life?

We do well to spend time in His Word with a singular purpose to live so that all we say, think, and do is for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ.

29.m. “Put to death therefore what is earthly in you”

Colossians 3:5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Romans 6:6   We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

James 4:1   What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?

Romans 1:18   For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

Ephesians 2:2-3   in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—  among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

1 Peter 1:14   As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,

“put to death” is very strong and suggests that we are not simply to suppress or control evil acts and attitudes. We are to wipe them out, completely exterminate the old way of life.” (Vaughan) The sins mentioned in Colossians are a minimal list of the way the world lives and not the way Christians should ever live. Every Christian is faced with a question: “Who will I identify with, the world or with Jesus?” Who will you live for, self and its passions or for honoring and glorifying Jesus? Who will your serve, self or Jesus? When our eyes get pulled away from being focused on humbly serving, obeying, following, trusting, and relying on Jesus Christ something else comes into focus. If our hearts and minds had eyes, are they intently looking for more knowledge and understanding and godly wisdom to grow and mature in how we live our lives so that Jesus Christ will be honored and glorified? Paul is saying “put to death” our former earthly, worldly, and fleshly desires and passions. Don’t give them a hidden room in your heart or mind. Don’t give them a place to reside. Baptism symbolizes putting to death such desires and being washed clean of their stain and guilt. Put these desires and passions to death. The problem is that we don’t always put them to death. We may bury them deep but we have not put them to death. Somehow they are able to dig their way back up to the surface of our mind and bring to life these old ways of living. The importance of God’s Word in our lives is very instrumental in how the Holy Spirit will guide us in discerning worldly and fleshly passions and desires in our lives. I wonder if we truly even want to know such things. Do we actually think we can live two separate lives, one serving fleshly and worldly desires and the other living to honor and glorify Jesus Christ? This is not possible. Man cannot serve two masters and yet this is exactly what we try to do all the time. We neglect God’s Word and by doing so we open ourselves up to blindly walking down paths of earthly desires and passions, unable to recognize we are. Putting to death these earthly desires and passions do not mean Satan will not try to resurrect them into our lives. He continually tries. It is only when we are intentionally committed to living to honor and glorify Jesus Christ with heart and mind deep desire to grow in knowledge and understanding of His grace, mercy, and love that we will be guided through life, by the Holy Spirit, and be able to mature in discerning the difference between earthly and godly living.

28.y. “I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.”

Colossians 1:9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light

Psalms 119:99   I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation.

James 3:17    But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

Psalms 143:10    Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground!

Romans 12:2     Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Ephesians 5:17    Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

1 Peter 4:2    so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.

Spiritual ignorance is the constant source of error, instability, and sorrow. (Spurgeon) Our Christian walk is based on our knowledge of God and our understanding of His will. How are we to “bear fruit in every good work”, if we do not have knowledge and understanding in what is honoring, pleasing, and glorifying Jesus Christ? Neglect and complacency fill us with Ignorance and ignorance of knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding voids our lives of purpose, meaning, joy, power, courage, happiness, generosity, hope, and satisfaction. We think the spiritual things of God are for Pastors to understand and know and try to educate us in God’s will and purpose. Don’t misunderstand me. Pastors can and do dive deep into spiritual things of God as they are led, fed, and grow in this understanding given to them by God. The problem is with us. We leave the diving deep into God’s Word to them and expect our lives to have growth, meaning, purpose and bear the fruit of good works by nibbling on the breads crumbs of their prayerful study. We leave church with a crumb worth of knowledge and even less understanding, Sunday after Sunday, convincing ourselves we are good and pleasing to God. There is a feast before us in God’s Word. Why would we choose to eat left over crumbs and lead spiritually starved lives? We seem to think being in spiritual starvation is natural. If we had two mirrors, one worldly and one spiritually, would we see an overweight obese worldly person in the worldly mirror and a malnutrition, underweight, and starved reflection in the spiritual mirror?

How we choose to spend out time reflects our spiritual growth, maturity, knowledge, and understanding. We get to choose to eat and drink from the bountiful spiritual feast found in God’s Word. When we seek and desire to eat from it, grow from it, get fulfilled from it, and be satisfied from it, we will begin to grow in spiritual knowledge and understanding, rightly dividing the Word of Truth, bearing fruit in good works, and honoring and glorifying Jesus Christ.

27.c. “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance”

Ephesians 2:1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Corinthians 6:11    And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

2 Timothy 4:10    For Demas, in love with this present world, has deserted me and gone to Thessalonica.

James 4:4     You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.

1 John 2:15-17    Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.  And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Isaiah 30:1    “Ah, stubborn children,” declares the LORD, “who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin;

1 John 5:4   For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

1 Peter 1:14   As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,

John 8:44   You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

1 John 5:19   We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

1 John 3:10    By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil

Though, as Christians, we are now alive, we must never forget where we came from. We were dead in trespasses and sins. There are many kinds of life: vegetable life, animal life, mental life, moral life, and spiritual life. A being might be alive in one sense but dead in another. To be spiritually dead does not mean that we are physically dead, socially dead, or psychologically dead. Yet it is a real death, a “dead death” nonetheless. “The most vital part of man’s personality – the spirit – is dead to the most important factor in life – God.” (Wood) “Not in a moral sense, nor a mental sense, but in a spiritual sense, poor humanity is dead, and so the word of God, again and again, most positively describes it.” (Spurgeon) We err if we think that dead in trespasses and sins says everything about man’s lost condition. It is an err because the Bible uses many different pictures to describe the state of the unsaved man, saying he is: Blind, A slave to sin, A lover of darkness, Sick, Lost, An alien, A stranger, A foreigner, A child of wrath, and Under the power of darkness.

Every single person was born out of and into sin. All have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God. Everyone ever born has been born into sin. Through birth, we have were born into death and destruction and if God’s righteousness was a line we not only have crossed it, but we continually challenge its boundaries. We are born on the other side of God’s perfect, holy, and righteous standards through our sinful birth. We lived in sin, we embraced it and did not even give it a second thought. We followed after the course of this world and the prince of lies, Satan. We followed after it and sought it and its pleasures, wants, and desires. Granted we were born into sin, inherited from Adam, but Satan adds to this sinful nature the temptations and influences through deception and lies to do even more ungodliness. He influences and convinces us that pride, self-worth, self-centeredness, self-reliance, lust, worldly satisfaction, worldly pleasures, and immoral things are not only right but through them, we will gain purpose and meaning in life. Such is the life of the “dead in their sin” mankind. Those born again must never forget where they came from. Those who are made alive must remember that we were very comfortable in this old life just as a dead person would be comfortable in a coffin. We are alive in Christ and there ought to be a strong urge to escape the confines of the coffin and leave it behind. We used to respond to Satan’s temptations, influence, and guidance. We ought to be growing and maturing in things of God and the leading of the Holy Spirit in our everyday lives. We ought to be able to discern the things of God and the lies of Satan.

One of Satan’s lies is that he would have us believe that all are children of God, hell is only reserved for really bad people, and as children of God, all good people go to heaven, confusing what it means to be a child of God. In one sense we are, He is our common creator. Satan will throw clouds of doubt over the need to be born again, the need for Jesus Christ, the coming judgment, heaven, and hell. There ought to be a big difference, a change, a new way of thinking, living, and doing when we are born again. The problem is we are continually tempted to choose the worldly and fleshly over the things of God. We choose to seek what the world has to offer more than desiring to honor and glorify Jesus Christ.

Another of his lies is that there is no God and all there is to life is what we take from it. We live, we die, the end. Believing in either one of these lies has eternal consequences, eternal hell. We are to remember this is not only how we once lived, but this is what we have been saved from through the grace and mercy of God. What manner of person ought we to be in light of this?

27. “And I thought you would call me, My Father”

Ephesians 1:5 In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.

Daniel 4:35  all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”

Romans 8:29-30   For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.  And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

Jeremiah 3:19   “‘I said, How I would set you among my sons, and give you a pleasant land, a heritage most beautiful of all nations. And I thought you would call me, My Father, and would not turn from following me.

John 1:12   But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,

Philippians 2:13     for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

He predestined, According to His will, He called, He justified, He glorified, He works in you, He gave, He foreknew, and He has blessed us. If you were asked why God created? Why did He create all there is? Why did God do this if He foreknew the outcome? There are a host of other questions but that certainly is being asked by souls every day. God is God and for us to think we have the mental capacity to understand more than a thimble worth of knowledge about Him in an ocean of who He is we are more than foolish. We know He is holy, righteous, loving, full of grace, mercy, and love. We know that He sent His only son to bear our sin burdens on the cross and redeem us from eternal hell at the proper time. How can we even grasp the laws that govern time, space, earthly, heavenly, eternity, etc….We can’t. We try as hard as we might but at the end of the day, we aren’t really any closer to having this understanding. I have heard people reject the offer of salvation through Jesus Christ because they don’t believe there is a living God because Their god would act differently. There would be no sickness, death, wars, or famine. Their god would not dream of creating sinful man., sickness, death, pain, suffering……

Here we read of God foreknew, God, predestined, according to His will. My God, and hopefully yours too is awesome in power, strength, wisdom, knowledge, grace, mercy, and love. His plans are perfect. His ways are Holy. His creation points toward Himself as the author. His will can never be questioned because His purposes are right and true and holy.

How should we act when we know the creator of all there is and ever will be has called us to Himself so that through belief in His Son, Jesus Christ, we are set free from the judgment and penalty of sin. I can think of nothing worse than a person who has been given a glimpse of God and an elementary understanding of the need for salvation, and knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and then reject God and Jesus without a second thought. I guess I can think of something else that is worse. Those who have tasted of the love of Jesus Christ and choose to neglect God’s Word and deafen their ears to the leading of the Holy Spirit. Blessed are those who hear His calling and believe in Jesus Christ for they are sons of the Most High. In all you say, think, and do make sure that it honors and glorifies Jesus Christ. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain.

26.q. “But those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit”

Galatians 5:16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.

Ephesians 2:3   among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

1 Peter 1:14    As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance,

Romans 8:5   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 set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

1 Peter 4:2   so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for human passions but for the will of God.

1 John 2:15-16   Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

To walk in the Spirit means that the Holy Spirit lives in you, to be open and sensitive to the influence of the Holy Spirit, and to live your life desiring the influence of the Holy Spirit. There is no way anyone can fulfill the lust of the flesh as they walk in the Spirit. The two simply don’t go together. The Holy Spirit doesn’t move in us to gratify our fallen desires and passions, but to teach us about Jesus and to guide us in ways that will always honor and glorify Jesus. How can we think some of the things we think and do some of the things we do that surely do not honor and glorify Jesus Christ? It is when worldly desires, temptations, and self-gratification take a front and center place in our minds. If we would take every thought, action, and words we are about to speak captive and simply ask ourselves is this in line with God’s Word or what the world thinks is right. Does it honor and glorify Jesus Christ? Does it demonstrate the love of Him?

Walking in the Spirit is the key, but it doesn’t always come easily. Often, it is a battle. There is a battle going on inside the Christian, and the battle is between the flesh and the Spirit. As Paul writes, these are contrary to one another – they don’t get along at all. When the flesh is winning the inside battle, you do not do the things that you wish. You don’t live the way you want to; you live under the flesh instead of under the Spirit. Our inner being (sinful nature) is fully trained in rebellion and fleshly and worldly desires. We intentionally choose to be influenced and led by either our old nature or the Spirit of God. This battle between that which honors and glorifies and that which does not and which one will win comes down to what we choose to allow into our hearts, minds, and souls. Out of the abundance of the heart, all actions and words take root. Fill your heart with God’s Word. Desire it. Seek it. Cherish it. Obey it. Believe it. Trust it. Cling to it. Rely on it. Desire the Holy Spirit to lead you. If God’s Word is set aside or placed out of sight (not set in high regard) you are helpless against the fleshly and worldly.

26.p.

Galatians 4:12 Brothers, I entreat you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong. You know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first, and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. What then has become of your blessedness? For I testify to you that, if possible, you would have gouged out your eyes and given them to me. Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? They make much of you, but for no good purpose. They want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. It is always good to be made much of for a good purpose, and not only when I am present with you, my little children, for whom I am again in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you! I wish I could be present with you now and change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.

Romans 8:9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Romans 8:29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.

I heard a song the other day which had the line; “Spirit fall on us”. Is this a proper statement for a Christian to say? When the eyes to your heart, mind, and soul are opened to the gospel of Jesus Christ, and by faith you believe, trust, and rely on Him alone you are saved, born again, a new creation, and the Holy Spirit makes residence in you. When does the Holy Spirit leave you? It does not ever leave. You can close the ears to your heart, mind, and soul. You can disregard what the Holy Spirit is encouraging you do to. You can deny what the Holy Spirit is telling you to do. You can say no to what the Holy Spirit is telling you to do. You can neglect the Holy Spirit living in you. Yes, you can reject those quiet and not-so-quiet whispers to your heart from the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit of God dwells in each and every person who is born again.

Paul wanted to see the likeness of Christ being formed in these believers in Galatia. How does this happen? How is the likeness of Christ being formed in us? We must want to and be willing to be led by the Holy Spirit. David gave a great example of this; “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!”, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!^”. When we desire and seek to hear and do what the Holy Spirit is leading us to do, we will continually be more and more resembling the likeness of Christ. A light the shine in the darkness and beacon of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The fruits of the Holy Spirit. What keeps us from experiencing these fruits? Love of self, love of worldly, and love of the flesh more than things of God and wanting to be led by the Holy Spirit. Our hearts, minds, and souls, are not seeking or desiring to hear or listen to the leading.

Think about how you are being fed. What is feeding your soul? What are you spending your time on? What consumes your time and thoughts? If we say, “I am going to spend more time in God’s Word” this is good but could very well be lacking in desire to be led. Our hearts, minds, and souls must hunger and thirst for leading and the sole purpose of this desire is out of sincere love for Jesus Christ and want to honor and glorify Him. Anything short of this will not find the heart, mind, or soul listening or willing to be led.

22.p. “Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”

1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

Proverbs 9:6    Leave your simple ways, and live, and walk in the way of insight.”

Galatians 6:7    Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

2 Timothy 2:16-17    But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness,  and their talk will spread like gangrene.

Hebrews 12:15     See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;

Paul deals with the moral problems of the Corinthians: envy, divisions, pride, immorality, greed, irreverence, and selfishness. How much of this came in because of they kept evil company? This speaks to the vital need described in Romans 12:2: 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. By keeping evil company, the Corinthian Christians were being conformed to this world, and they needed to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Christians must let the Word of God shape their thinking, not the evil company of this world.

It is very easy to “get conformed to the world”. The world does not recognize God. The world does not speak about God, other than to say He does not exist. The world tries to replace the joy, hope, and trust in Jesus Christ alone with everything that promises to satisfy the soul but leaves the soul lacking and wanting more, something better. All-day long the world denies, rejects, and proclaims its self-center self-reliance and calls things of God foolish and false. Paul is saying rid yourselves of these influences. Take your guidance from the Word of God.

20.w. “Make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!”

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

J.B. Phillips translates this vs, Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the Plan of God for you is good, meets all His demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity.

Leviticus 18:30    So keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God.”

1 John 5:19     We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

1 John 4:4-5   Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.  They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them.

1 Corinthians 3:19    For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their craftiness,”

1 John 2:15-17    Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.  And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Ezekiel 18:31    Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!

Ephesians 4:22-24   to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires,  and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,  and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.

Colossians 3:10   and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.

Psalms 34:8   Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

God’s word warns us that the “world system” – the popular culture and manner of thinking that is in rebellion against God – will try to conform us to its ungodly pattern, and that process must be resisted. The battleground between conforming to the world and being transformed is within the mind of the believer. Christians must think differently. “I don’t want to be conformed to this world. I want to be transformed. How do I do it?” By the renewing of your mind. The problem with many Christians is they live life based on feelings, worthy are only concerned about doing. The life based on feeling says, “How do I feel today? How do I feel about my job? How do I feel about my wife? How do I feel about worship? How do I feel about the preacher?” This life by feeling will never know the transforming power of God, because it ignores the renewing of the mind. The life based on doing says, “Don’t give me your theology. Just tell me what to do. Give me the four points for this and the seven keys for that.” This life of doing will never know the transforming power of God, because it ignores the renewing of the mind. God is never against the principles of feeling and doing. He is a God of powerful and passionate feeling and He commands us to be doers. Yet feelings and doing are completely insufficient foundations for the Christian life. The first questions cannot be “How do I feel?” or “What do I do?” Rather, they must be “What is true here? What does God’s Word say?” “How do I apply this or how does it apply to my life.” “What is in my heart and mind?” “How do I discern the intents and purposes of my actions?” “What things in this world are contrary to things of God?”

God’s Word must be more than do’s and do not’s. This would never transform a person from the inside. Meditation on God’s Word, however, will transform us. The problem is that we too often fall into the trap of only listening to what others have meditated on. We listen to our pastors on Sunday. We listen to radio preachers throughout the week. We may form opinions based on what they have said. We may even try to remember the three or four points they tell us are important. When is the last time we spent in God’s Word, asked God to give us wisdom and understanding, and meditated upon it? I must admit, very seldom, when our pastor is preaching, am I fully listening. I read the passage from which he is preaching. I cross-reference to other verses. I think about what God is revealing to me and then I give thought to this throughout the day. Some thoughts will stay throughout the week with me while I think about it and try to make sense of it. At the end of the day we are renewed and transformed in how we think, act, and do, by our thoughts and meditation on God’s Word. It is a shallow commitment to God when we spend no time meditating on His Word.