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Episode #72 "Under Construction"
Transcript
Welcome to The Point of Purity Podcast. I’m your host, Steve Etner, Author, National Speaker, and Purity Coach for The Pure Man Ministry. This is episode #72, and in this episode, we are going to take a look at Romans 12:2 which says we are to “be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” What exactly does that mean? How do I do that? And why should I? These questions and more will be answered in this week’s episode is entitled, “Under Construction!”
OK, so I’ve got a question for you. Have you ever been part of a renovation project? Either whole house or even partial, have you ever done a renovation? If yes, then you understand that when you renovate a home, you use specific tools to accomplish the task – right?
In John 17:17 Jesus is praying to the Father, and in that prayer, He says that you and I are sanctified (we are set apart from sin) by “the Truth.” Specifically, He prays “sanctify them through the truth, your word is truth!” In short, Jesus is saying, “Father, make your children holy, set them apart from sin, by using the absolute truth of Your Word.”
You see, my friend, The Word of God is the tool that the Holy Spirit uses to renovate your mind. Through His counsel given in Scripture, your thinking is changed, resulting in transformed living. Remember, if you are going to glorify God in your everyday living, He must first be glorified in your every moment thinking. What you think becomes what you do.
Here’s my point: if you were to permit yourself, even if but for a moment, to think about how you can fulfill the sinful desires of your flesh, your life would begin the process of focusing completely upon that desire as the ultimate goal. Subsequently and consequently, the things you say and the things you do would end up having the focus and intent on achieving that goal no matter the cost.
This is why God says clearly (Romans 13:14) that you are to clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ and not even THINK about how to gratify the sinful desires of your flesh. And don’t forget that in Galatians 5:16 Paul reminds us that when you choose to live by the Spirit, to walk in obedience to His leading in your life, you will not gratify the sinful desires of your flesh. Never lose sight of the fact that it is your responsibility to say “yes” to the Holy Spirit and “no” to letting sin reign in your body (Romans 6:12). It is up to you to choose to daily take up your cross and offer your body to God as a living, continuous sacrifice of praise to Him (Luke 9:23 and Romans 12:1).
If you’ve been following this podcast for any length of time, I’d like to challenge you to take a moment here and reflect on what you’ve been learning throughout this series. According to Romans 12:2 you are to undergo a transformation – a spiritual metamorphosis. That which resides IN you (your new, holy, godly nature) is to be lived out every moment of every day. This “transformation” takes place only as God renews (or renovates) your mind (your though process) with His Holy Word through His Holy Spirit. Now think about this: If you are going to live by the Spirit, and if you are going to renew your mind and thus renew your life, what is it that you MUST do daily? The answer: You must be in the Word of God. You must fill your mind with God’s truth. Why? Because what you think will become what you do. So, I must repeat yet again: If you are going to glorify God in your everyday living, He must first be glorified in your every moment thinking.
In Psalm 119:9, David considers this same principle when he asks, “How can a young man keep his way pure?” In other words, how do I maintain my purity, how to I become and remain a godly person? How do I make sure that everything I think, say, and do is thought, said, and done ALL to the glory of God? David then answers his question by stating, “By living according to (God’s) Word.” Let’s think about David’s question here along with his answer. First, note that David speaks of a man’s “way.” “How can a man keep his ‘way’ pure?” That word “way” refers to the path of life; that which you do each day based upon the things you think and the choices you make. So, he’s asking how we can keep our way of living, the things we do every day, and the decisions we make, pure – free from sin.
The answer is by “living” according to God’s Word. The word “living” refers to observing, retaining, treasuring up, and keeping watch as a guard over something extremely valuable. In other words, to keep your decision-making process, and thus your daily lifestyle, free from sin, you need to get into the Word of God (read it), observe what it says (study it), retain that in your memory (memorize it), let it build up inside of you (meditate on it), and then be on the watch as a guard protecting your heart, which is priceless.
In short, the Psalmist is telling us that the way to keep your life pure is by making moment-by-moment, everyday adjustments to your life according to the Word of God. Not just knowing what it says, but actually doing it. Or, as James says in James 1:22, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
David goes on to say in Psalm 119:11, “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Now think about this: to “hide” God’s Word doesn’t mean you are burying it where it cannot be easily found – much like a dog might bury its bone. Rather, it means to retain it, to store it up as you would a priceless treasure. Watch this now ... if you see God’s Word as a highly valued treasure, it will be worth the time, energy, and effort digging for it and then holding tightly to it. That’s when you are actively storing up God’s Truth in your heart. That’s when, as David writes in Psalm 119:104, you “gain understanding from (His) precepts; therefore (you) hate every wrong path.
When you are not only reading God’s Word but studying it and meditating upon it throughout the day, that is when you gain a greater understanding of God’s will for your life. You become intimately familiar with who God is and what His plan is for your life. And as a result, you will also see sin the way God sees it – for what it is and what it does, and then hating it just like He does. This, in turn, brings about real, lasting change in your life. Your attitude and behavior are transformed because you now hate your sin the way God hates it. You make the necessary adjustments in your life that keep you from sinning. Oh, my friend, if you are going to live by the Spirit and glorify God in your life, you must know Scripture.
I am so thankful to God that we have His Holy Spirit dwelling within us! Jesus told His disciples in John 16:13-14 that it was for their future good that He would send His Spirit to them. He said, “When He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and make it known to you.” (John 16:13-14)
Just before making that statement, in John 14:26 Jesus made this promise: “The Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” In other words, as you study the Word of God, the Spirit of God will help you understand the God of the Word and his will for your life. The Holy Spirit will help you understand how to apply God’s principles, standards, and truth to your daily living. As you follow His leading, applying the truths of Scripture to your life, that is when you will be (Galatians 5:16) “living by the Spirit.” And according to that verse, one major result of living by the Spirit is that you will no longer be living for the purpose of gratifying and satisfying the sinful desires of your flesh!
OK, so this is our stopping point for this week’s episode. Be sure to tune to next week’s episode as we continue our deep dive into how to glorify God in our thought life by asking the question: “Will the Real Christian Please Stand Up?”
If you would like to learn more about today’s study, or if you’re interested in learning more about our ministry, be sure to visit our website to see the multitude of resources we’ve made available to you – you can find our website at ThePurityCoach.com
One of those resources I would like to highlight for you here is my book entitled “Extreme Mind Makeover: How to transform sinful thoughts and habits into patterns of life pleasing to God.” This book takes you on a journey through the Bible to examine what God has to say about how your thoughts, words, and actions influence and impact your heart.
If you’ve followed this Point of Purity Podcast for any length of time, then you’ve heard me emphasize the fact that what you think becomes what you do. When you train your mind to think godly thoughts, the things you say and do day in and day out will be godly. On the flip side, when you allow your mind to think sinful, fleshly, ungodly, King Me centered thoughts, the result (your daily attitudes and actions) will be ungodly. So, how do I change the way I think? How do I change the things I do? How do I successfully and effectively guard my heart? This book, “Extreme Mind Makeover” takes you into God’s Word to help you answer those questions.So go to our website, ThePurityCoach.com, and check out our resources page, or go directly to Amazon.com and purchase your copy of “Extreme Mind Makeover” today.
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So, until next time this is Author, Speaker, and Purity Coach Steve Etner reminding you that if you are going to glorify God in your everyday living, He must first be glorified in your every moment thinking.