There is this battle taking place within you between the mind of the flesh and the mind of the spirit:
Romans 8:5-7 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. 6 The mind of the flesh is death, but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind of the flesh is hostile to God: It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. ESV
There is a difference between Genesis 1, Original Adam and Genesis 3, Fallen Adam. Adam originally lived in unbroken fellowship with God knowing the mind of the Spirit. After the fall he was subject to the mind of the flesh that is hostile against and unwilling to submit to God.
Jesus came to redeem and restore us reversing the curse from Genesis 3 back to Genesis 1 where we can live in unbroken fellowship with God once again. Our problem is we find ourselves slowly drifting away from intimacy with God.
A man was driving down the road in his pickup with his wife talking about their twenty years of marriage. The wife said, “You used to drive your truck with your arm around me and we were so in love. What happened?” To which the man responded by putting his arm up on the seat saying, “I’m not the one who moved!”
Little things happen and if we’re not careful we let those things build perspectives and conclusions that cause us to slowly drift away from intimacy with Jesus.
God is always right there with us. The nearness of God is always there. We must work on our awareness of the nearness of God.
Awareness of the Father keeps you in touch with the eternal reality of God.
John 12:49-50 I have not spoken on My own, but the Father who sent Me has commanded Me what to say and how to say it. 50 And I know that His command leads to eternal life. So I speak exactly what the Father has told Me to say.” NIV
Jesus didn’t speak from his own initiative. He spoke from the Father’s eternal perspective. Are you pursuing God’s perspective? God desires to awaken a reactionary disposition within you that comes from a deeper place of fellowship with Him. Religion tries to restrain desire. We must learn to dig deeper discovering our deepest desires that have been given to us from God and unleash them.
Ezekiel 36:25-29 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness… NIV
The idea of the regenerated heart means our deepest desires are God’s desires.
Controlling wrong passions isn’t the issue but rather learning to be passionate about our God-given deepest desires.
You’ll have to dig deeper to discover the desires of God that exist within you.
Sacrificially: Praying, Reading, Gathering, Giving, Loving, Serving
Being saved is one thing allowing the mind of Christ to dwell in your life, establish your thinking and shape your destiny is another. We must be growing in God’s Word!
We Bring GP2RL Action Point:
Dig deeper this week in a sacrificial pursuit of these deeper desires of God.
ALGORITHMS: The Mind of the Spirit
DISCUSSION GUIDE
Click here for a downloadable pdf file of this guide.
UNDERSTANDING THE SEASON: As a church family we want to be OUTRAGEOUSLY LOVING people who PASSIONATELY PURSUE the Lord with IRRATIONALLY GIVING lifestyles as we CONSISTENTLY SUBMIT to God’s desires and EFFECTIVELY DISCIPLE others to do the same.
Our 2022 New Year’s Revelation as a church family is EVERYONE IS CREATED FOR ABUNDANT LIFE! Much will flow from heaven into our hearts and homes this year!
The devil comes to steal, kill and destroy but realize the aim of death is not to kill you but to keep you from the fullness of life until you die. Distraction is destruction of what could have been in your life.
John 10:10b “...I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].” Amplified
Jesus came demonstrating that true life is discovered in a willing death. When we die to ourselves we learn what it means to be alive in Christ.
God’s plan is for us to hear his voice together as a family. This is why we start each group with the first question:
DISCUSSION QUESTION:
1. Where are you reading in your Bible and what are you sensing from God?
Ask each person in your group to answer the discussion questions below after reading the verses. Don’t move on to the next question until everybody who is willing to share has had the opportunity to give their perspective.
Ezekiel 36:25-29 I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your im- purities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 28 Then you will live in the land I gave your ancestors; you will be my people, and I will be your God. 29 I will save you from all your uncleanness... NIV
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:
Have each person give a 60 second summary of what these verses are saying, in their own words.
What do these verses teach us about God?
What do these verses teach us about people?
What should you do this week in response to what we are reading and what God is revealing?
Who comes to mind when considering a person you might share this with this week?
We Bring GP2RL Action Point:
Dig deeper this week in a sacrificial pursuit of these deeper desires of God.