Spiritually Minded 07

We said earlier that we are spiritually minded when God's Spirit and our spirit are in control of our thoughts, attitudes, emotions, motivations & imagination. But this won’t happen automatically. It will require some effort on our part:

BEING SPIRITUALLY-MINDED

First, we need to train ourselves to be aware. In other words, we need to keep a close watch on our minds! Remember that every decision we make, every action we take, every thought we think, is influenced by either the spirit or the flesh. Following are some practical ways to make sure our minds are being controlled by the Spirit. (These ideas were taken from Dean Sherman’s Spiritual Warfare teaching series.)

o Take every thought captive. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says, “3For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”

o Compare your attitude to that of Jesus. Philippians 2:5 says, “5Let this mind [attitude] be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”

o Watch your motives. Philippians 2:3 says, “3Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.”

o Guard your heart, the source of your emotions. Proverbs 4:23 says, “23Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”

o Sanctify your imagination. In Isaiah 65:2 God says, “2All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations.”

Like physical training, training your mind will require determination and perseverance. But unlike physical training, the fruit of training your mind to be spiritually focused will be eternal.

Spiritually Minded 06

Even Christian leaders can be carnally minded. This week we will look at one more example of a carnally minded Christian. As we do, remember to keep in mind the following statement: EVERY DECISION WE MAKE, EVERY ACTION WE TAKE, EVERY THOUGHT WE THINK, IS INFLUENCED BY EITHER THE SPIRIT OR THE FLESH.

Diotrephes, 3 John 1:9
9I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. 10Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church.

We don’t know much about Diotrephes. In fact this is the only place he is mentioned. It appears that he held some or other office in the local church to which John was writing—possibly even leading it.

Whatever his office, it’s clear that Diotrephes’ leadership position had gone to his head. He enjoyed the authority he had and used it selfishly and inappropriately to lord it over people, ignoring or being ignorant of Jesus’ teaching that leaders in the Church should not do so.

He had become critical of the apostles and spread rumours and gossip about them in order to discredit them and elevate himself.

He would not receive instruction or correction. He refused to recognise any other authority and eventually became so paranoid that he felt threatened by anyone who did and excommunicated them.

Attributes of Diotrophes’ carnal mind that we need to guard against:

Desiring a leadership position in order to have power and influence.

Using positions of leadership to elevate ourselves and push others down rather than developing them.

Feeling threatened or resentful of anyone in authority over us.

Spreading rumours or gossip about our leaders, even in the guise of “prayer requests.”

Being unteachable.

Spiritually Minded 05

Are you beginning to believe that Christians can be carnally-minded? This week we will look at another example of carnally minded Christians. As we do, remember to keep in mind the following statement: EVERY DECISION WE MAKE, EVERY ACTION WE TAKE, EVERY THOUGHT WE THINK, IS INFLUENCED BY EITHER THE SPIRIT OR THE FLESH.

The Believers in Corinth, 1 Corinthians 3
1And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? 4For when one says, “I am of Paul,” and another, “I am of Apollos,” are you not carnal?

By the time Paul wrote this letter, the city of Corinth had received visits from gifted leaders in the early Church. Some had become Christians under Paul’s ministry, and some through Apollos’ exceptional preaching. Some (according to 2 Cor 1:12) identified with Peter, while others only recognised Jesus.

The Corinthian believers, however, had taken these loyalties and preferences too far. They allowed their loyalties to become exclusive allegiances. The result of this was “envy, strife, and divisions” among them as each faction claimed exclusive ownership of the “Truth.” Paul wrote to reprimand them for this carnal-mindedness, pointing out that they were putting too much emphasis on the debateable things and not enough on the undeniable things.

Attributes of the Corinthian believers’ carnal minds that we need to guard against:

Denominational pride.

Allowing differences over debateable things to cause division.

Allowing a preference for one pastor to become divisive.

Allowing differences with leadership or denominational oversight to become divisive.

Spiritually Minded 04

Even Christians can be carnally-minded! This week we will continue looking at a few examples of carnally minded Christians. As we do, remember to keep in mind the following statement: EVERY DECISION WE MAKE, EVERY ACTION WE TAKE, EVERY THOUGHT WE THINK, IS INFLUENCED BY EITHER THE SPIRIT OR THE FLESH.

Annanias & Saphira, Acts 5:1-5
1Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.3Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.”5When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.7About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”9Peter said to her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”10At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

This took place early in the life of the New Testament church. It was an exciting time when people were getting saved and added daily. Signs and wonders were happening all around them. And it was a time when there was great fellowship and unity in the church. Acts 2:43-45 describes it this way, “43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.”

Annanias and Saphira were in the midst of all that was happening. And probably with good intentions, they also sold a piece of property. But after receiving the money, Annanias decided to keep some of it. He could use the cash, and he rationalised that no one knew how much he sold the land for, and therefore, everyone would think, ”What a great sacrifice they’re making—selling a field and giving all the money away!” Saphira envisaged the imminent shopping spree and enthusiastically supported the idea.

But either through a word of knowledge or a good eye for property valuation, Peter saw through the scheme. In the midst of his rebuke, Peter asked a very pointed question, “What made you think of doing such a thing?” The answer, Annanias’ carnal mind.

Attributes of Annanias & Saphira’s carnal minds that we need to guard against:

• Seeking recognition for our good works.
• Sacrificing our integrity for personal gain.
• Rationalising our sin.
• Selfishly getting caught up in other’s sin instead of correcting them.

Spiritually Minded 03

Last week we saw that even Christians can be carnally-minded. This week we will start looking at a few examples of carnally minded Christians. As we do, keep in mind the following statement: EVERY DECISION WE MAKE, EVERY ACTION WE TAKE, EVERY THOUGHT WE THINK, IS INFLUENCED BY EITHER THE SPIRIT OR THE FLESH.

Simon the sorcerer, Acts 8:18-24
18When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
24Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”

Simon had been quite a celebrity before Philip came to town. Many people were amazed by the magic tricks he did. The people flocked to see him, and thought he had some mysterious power.

But when Philip arrived, all that changed. Suddenly, the people were following Philip instead of Simon. Even Simon himself got born again and started following Philip around. But although Simon was a Christian, he still craved the attention and fame he used to have. So he offered to pay Peter to give him the power to impart the Holy Spirit so he could regain some his former popularity.

Attributes of Simon’s carnal mind that we need to guard against:

Jealousy & envy

Bitterness over what we had to give up when we became a Christian.

Seeking our own popularity before God.

Wanting God’s blessing in order to increase our own profile as a church.

Spiritually Minded 02

Last week I laid the foundation for looking at the difference between the carnal-minded person and the spiritually-minded person.

Let’s return to Romans 8…
5Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6The mind of sinful man£ is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7the sinful mind£ is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
9You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.

The key passage for us here is Romans 8:6. Another translation reads: “6For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”

To be Spiritually Minded is to look at God, yourself, others & the world from God's eternal, loving perspective. We are spiritually minded when God's spirit and our spirit are in control of our thoughts, attitudes, emotions, motivations & imagination. To be Spiritually Minded is life since God is the source of life. It is peace since it brings the mind and spirit into unison.

To be Carnally Minded is to look at God, yourself, others & the world from our finite, selfish perspective. We are carnally minded when our fleshly desires are in control of our thoughts, attitudes, emotions, motivations & imagination. To be Carnally Minded is death because it steals life from us. Because the carnal mind is controlled by the flesh, it rebels against God, the source of life.

It may come as a surprise that Christians can be carnally-minded. We’ve probably all been there at one time or another. Maybe you’re there right now. Yet what is even more surprising is how quickly we can go from spiritually-minded to carnally-minded! Prime example—Peter. He went from receiving a direct revelation from God and a prophesy about becoming a foundation stone for the New Testament Church to being called, “Satan,” by Jesus because of his carnal-mindedness.

Next, we will look at a few more examples of carnally minded Christians. But until then, think about the following statement: EVERY DECISION WE MAKE, EVERY ACTION WE TAKE, EVERY THOUGHT WE THINK, IS INFLUENCED BY EITHER THE SPIRIT OR THE FLESH.

Spiritually Minded 01

You’ve heard the expression, “He is so heavenly-minded that he’s no earthly good.”
Yet sometimes we’re in danger of being so earthly-minded that we are no heavenly good!

Let’s turn to Romans 7…
19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?

Paul has a problem. He wants to do the right thing, but keeps finding himself doing the wrong thing. Anyone ever had that experience? In the last week? This morning?
Isn’t it comforting to know that we’re in good company?

But it’s even more comforting to see that there is an answer! Let’s read on…
25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man, 4in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit.

If we have received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour, our sin has been atoned for, and we are completely forgiven. But Paul doesn’t stop there. He goes on in the verses that follow to describe the difference between the carnal-minded person and the spiritually-minded person.

That is what I will be focusing on in the next several posts.