Are You Out of Your Mind?

 

Introduction: Mark 5:1-15

When Jesus delivers us, we will be in our right mind. But, the world considers that a right mind to them has tolerance & understanding, accepting sin… 1Pet.4:3-4 it is difficult to understand us. This is the reason many new Christians have trials to return to worldly living; I don’t want to say no to my friends (they need you to stand up for truth); I just can’t change everything so suddenly, (yes you can & yes you must); to be in our right mind will create change in our relationships. But, use wisdom to do your best to remain friends but stop sin. Stop fearing to live for God. Be a Christian!Rom.7:25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin. It is with the mind that we serve God.

The enemy wants to distract & damage our minds to make us fearful of church & true salvation. Since church requires a ‘right mind’, the way we were in the world & sin was truly ‘not in our right mind’. We must change & move from the carnal mind to the spiritual mind. Are you out of your mind? Take on the new life & teach your friends & relatives wisely. The easiest way is say, ‘I don’t want to do that anymore; I’ve changed & I have a different way to live without doing those things.

Spiritually Minded:

Rom.8:5-7 God wants us to be spiritually minded – remember that Paul is writing this to Christians already born again & some have become carnal minded. This shows the importance of personal daily devotions.

Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. ‘The kingdom is in the Holy Ghost’. The Holy Ghost means the church because we are His body, because we have the Holy Ghost, His Spirit. The kingdom is the church! Jesus told Nicodemus 2 things about church: if you are not born again you won’t be able to see it, & without being born of the water & Spirit you can’t enter it. Many people are blind to truth. If Jesus doesn’t open their eyes, we can’t help them see. Our best action is pray for them & be a good witness until they desire truth. How can they desire it if they do no see it acted out in a witnesses’ life, our life?

Examples of blindness to the truth:

1. John 3:3 cannot ‘see’ the kingdom (church). Unless you are born again, you cannot see (understand) the church.

2. 1 Cor.12:3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

3. 2Cor.11:4 warning: another Jesus, (this word does not deserve a capitol J), another spirit, another gospel. Why would people believe lies? They blind themselves desiring the world of sin over holy living for the true Jesus.

The Bible allows us to study so many unknown things about life only because of the Spirit of God. I teach that we live in a predominantly ‘spiritual’ world controlled by spiritual laws. Even though you may read & understand most of the words in the Bible, you cannot know truth (understand the true meaning) without the ‘Spirit of Truth’ John 14:17; 16:13 . A very large number of sinners & lost are reading the same words as our Bible & can’t see it. To further prove this, recognize our personal limitations (encouraging us to have faith & trust in God), the members of the body must have faith & trust in each other for many things. If the devil gets you to mistrust a fellow Christian, a Pastor or other preacher – you will have difficulty feeling God & receiving His blessing. It takes a new mind from a world of so little trust.

The disciples saw & recognized what Jesus was doing but wanted to know why. In our daily lives we operate in an opposite way as Jesus because we seek to communicate clearly as we buy, sell, work, & socialize. Jesus took the time to speak to the people but limited their ability to understand the message. Strange eh? So there is important knowledge everyone must learn but Jesus says in vs.11 it is given to you, disciples (meaning not everyone, not this whole multitude) to understand.

So why bother preaching & teaching to them? Jesus came to seek & save them that are lost meaning everyone. After all, He went through & suffered a lot & He doesn’t want anyone to perish (2Pet.3:9).

We allow devils to blind our minds:

2 Cor.4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. How does he do it? He finds out what you love more than Jesus & church & brings the voices, the temptations to put more time on other things. The things may not even be sins normally, by themselves. But we can make innocent things ‘sin’. Jam.4:17 Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

We Allow the World to Blind our Minds:

1 John 2:11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. When we allow people of the world to affect us to hate them, why? The things in the world cause jealousy & envy. Revelation 3:17 Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

God Blinds Minds:

2 Thess.2:11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

John 12:40 He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. We are on a schedule. You only get one chance at life to make it to heaven. Keep saying ‘no’, keep turning your back on God, & sooner or later, He’ll stop bothering you. We never want that to happen. God convict me of wrongdoing, speak to me again & teach me right holy ways. I must be saved! I believe you.

God purposefully blinds the insincere heart so that while the message is propagated to all, the ‘sincere’ will be reached; the insincere may hear & read about truths but God won’t allow them to be converted. They must break completely with the past

This means that salvation is in 2 parts: 1. The physical, natural actions we must obeyin repentance & water/Spirit baptisms, & holy living to please God and 2. We must have a sincere heart that loves it. Without both – we cannot be saved.

ex. 1. The 10 virgins; 5 were foolish because while they kept their (spiritual) virginity & did everything right to be waiting & carry a lamp, they were spiritually unprepared by lack of oil. This showed how little love they had – their minds were on other things.

ex. 2. Rev.2:4 ‘left your 1st Love’. With all the right activity they forgot ‘why’ they were religious becoming vain.

How to get ‘out of our carnal minds’:

You know how God wants us to praise Him … don’t hold back. You know how God wants us to pray … don’t hold back. You know how He wants us to live & serve Him & be to church every time the doors are open, eager & excited to have church one more time. Do it! Be a witness & bring people – you know how much God loves that. Sacrifice in fasting & prayer & giving. Here are the personal, daily devotions I believe in:

1. Pray every day, as often as you can. Pray through!

2. Read some of God’s word every day – it will be food for you & you will feel it strengthen you.

3. Live holy & obedient every day & God will remove fear to be a witness.

4. Keep your mind on Spiritual living daily, thinking about & talking to Jesus often.

The Test Yourself:

Pick one:

1.Church & devotions get in the way of my life, (I can’t do what I want because church is too busy &/orrestricts it – (you think this in your mind);you are in deep trouble concerning making it to heaven.

2. The real children of God are thinking, ‘there are so many things in life interfering with my church life – I want more church, more devotion time, I wish I had more time for church’. Ask yourself which of these describes you. The right mind is preparing for heaven. God is returning for wise Christians who have their whole heart into living for God all the time, everywhere.

Conclusion:

1Cor.3:18-19; Paul calls himself a fool; He was out of his mind (carnally) but in his right mind – a fool to the world!

2 Thess.2:9-12 ⁹ Even him, whose coming is after the working of satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, ¹⁰ And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. ¹¹ And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:
¹² That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

Love of the truth is to be ‘received’ therefore no one has an excuse that they are different – God provides this love but so many reject it. Esau wanted the blessings of the material birthright but didn’t love God who provided those blessings – God rejected him & said ‘Esau have I hated’. Why? Because he rejected God’s love. It is time we got out of our minds!