The Mind of the Believer

Introduction to the Mind
At conversion, only your spirit is born again. Your mind and your body are not. Your mind is the gateway to your spirit and it controls your body. Your state of mind determines your state of being. The mind of the natural man is not subject to God and can never be. Rom 8:5-8. This is the main reason your mind must be renewed as a child of God. When this happens, your mind becomes that of a spiritual man which is subject to the Spirit of God.

At birth, the mind is a blank slate. It becomes shaped by the things it is exposed to as a child grows up. Examples of those things that mold the mind are fashion, media (electronic/print), popular psychology, religion, superstition, advertisement, friends, relatives, culture, and for believers, the Bible.

The war over your mind
Every believer is a walking civil war. Within us are the old and the new man. Each jostles for control and dominance.
“For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want”. Galatians 5:17.
“So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God's law; but 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. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks 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”. Romans 7:21-25
Satan has declared war on you and the battlefield is in your mind. That’s why Paul tells us to be vigilant in 2 Corinthians 10:5.
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Satan's method
Satan will use any goal, any ambition, any activity, and any material thing to occupy our minds; so that we will not be receptive to God’s Word; and, consequently, we will not grow or be changed. What goes into our mind determines the output. Consequently, Satan is going to do all he can to fill our minds with garbage—Why? Because Satan knows that if:
- he can change our thoughts, he can change our attitudes,
- and if he changes our attitudes, he can change our actions,
- and if he can change our actions, he’ll get what he’s always wanted- the destruction of our marriages, our children, and our churches.

An old Indian Christian was explaining to a missionary that the battle inside of him was like a black dog fighting a white dog. “Which dog wins?” asked the missionary. “The one I feed the most,” replied the Indian.

2 Rules of the Mind
Psychologists tell us there are two simple rules to do with the mind:
The Law of Concentration states that whatever we dwell on grows in our life experience and becomes part of us.

In the Law of Substitution states that our conscious mind can only hold one thought at a time and you can substitute a positive thought for a negative thought and vice versa.

Two thoughts cannot occupy the mind at the same time, so the choice is ours whether or not our thoughts will be constructive or destructive. It is impossible to think evil when we think on the good!


Born Single Minded
Man was created to be single minded.
Matthew 6:24 “No one is able to serve two lords; for either he will hate the one, and he will love the other; or he will cling to one, and he will despise the other. You are not able to serve God and mammon”.

Jesus is saying that a human being has been created with a capacity to serve only one master. He cannot and does not have the capacity to serve two. A double-minded person is unstable (James 1:8).

Fixed Mindset
Colossians 3:2: “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” A mind set on the flesh is death but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. That’s exactly what Isaiah 26:3 in the New Living Translation proclaims: “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, whose thoughts are fixed on you!” In other words, we must let the mind of the Master be the Master of our minds as Philippians 2:5 says: “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus.”

Lanny Bassham, is an Olympic gold medalist in shooting the small-bore rifle. Listen to how he trained himself to hit the bulls-eye as told to Sports Illustrated: “Our sport is controlled non-movement. We are shooting from 50 meters--over half a football field--at a bull ’s eye three-quarter the size of a dime. If the angle of error at the point of the barrel is more than .005 of a millimeter (that is five one-thousandths), you drop into the next circle and lose a point. So we have to learn how to make everything stop. I stop my breathing. I stop my digestion by not eating for 12 hours before the competition. I train by running to keep my pulse around 60, so I have a full second between beats…You do all of this and you have the technical control. But you have to have some years of experience in reading conditions: the wind, the mirage. Then you have the other 80% of the problem—focusing the mind” (Sports Illustrated, 8/2/76).


How the mind works
First used in the field of computer science, the phrase “Garbage In, Garbage Out,” really expresses a biblical principle. When we allow garbage into our minds, garbage will come out. If we allow godly thoughts in, godly behavior follows. In his book called, “As a Man Thinketh,” James Allen writes: “A man cannot directly choose his circumstances, but he can choose his thoughts, and so indirectly, yet surely, shape his circumstances.” Your input determines your output which in turn, determines your outcome.


There are 3 sources of input to your mind: eyes, ears and mouth.

Your eyes are the windows to your mind. You capture images with your eyes which are then developed in your mind. This is why it is possible to commit adultery with your eyes.
“You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery'. But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart”. Mat 5:27-28.

Job, a righteous man, took what he saw seriously. He controlled his eyes by been careful what he looked at.
"I made a covenant with my eyes
not to look lustfully at a girl”. Job 31:1
Your ears are the door to your mind. What you hear makes a big impact on your life. The just shall live by faith but this faith comes by hearing God’s word. Rom 10:17. Read the Bible aloud to yourself. Make is a point of duty to attend meetings where you are exposed to the Word of God. Note however that the converse is also true. Doubt, unbelief, skepticism, fear, confusion, anxiety, depressed mood and sorrow can all come from what you hear. Control your hearing to control your life.

You mouth is the garage to your mind. While the Bible says, “You shall have what you hear” it is also true that you can lose what you have by how you talk. Mk 11:23b, James 3:2, 6, 9-10. Your speech should not be based on how you feel but on your expectation. For example, when a weak person expects to be strong, he should say so according to Joel 3:10 which says, “Let the weak say I am strong”.

In summary, what comes to your eyes, your ears and out of your mouth carries a spiritual charge that affects you. Watch out and be discreet with what you see, hear and say.

Mind Training

Our minds cannot tell the difference between real experience and imagination. That is why one can watch a horror movie and not be able to sleep or wake up from a bad dream with your heart pounding in fear. Neither situation is real but the mind cannot tell the difference. Of what use is this information? When a carnal man is repeatedly exposed to God’s Word through study, meditation, preaching, television, radio, and internet, he becomes transformed by that word. Regardless of how far he may be from the word of God, if he applies himself, his mind will become renewed.
Most of the feelings, beliefs and attitudes we have about ourselves are acquired through habitual repetition. By repeatedly thinking on the Scriptures, you can become what God wants you to be.

"Whatever you hold in your mind will tend to occur in your life. If you continue to believe as you have always believed, you will continue to act as you have always acted. If you continue to act as you have always acted, you will continue to get what you have always gotten. If you want different results in your life or your work, all you have to do is change your mind”. Author Unknown

The importance of what you think

You’re not what you think you are; but what you THINK—you are! To change your life, you have to change your life. What you think is so important the next few principles may change your life.

Principle 1
Think about what you think about because your life depends on it.
Genesis 6:5-7
“The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. 7 So the LORD said, "I will wipe mankind, whom I have created, from the face of the earth—men and animals, and creatures that move along the ground, and birds of the air—for I am grieved that I have made them."

The world was destroyed because of evil thinking. Man judges only what you do but God judges what you think and as well as do. Therefore, think about what you think about. It is that important.

Principle 2
What you think today determines where you’ll be tomorrow.
Proverbs 23:7
“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he”.

You were what you thought. You are what you thought. You will become what you think today. Those who allow anything into their minds cede the control of their life to circumstances and the environment. Life change happens only AFTER you change your thinking. And the thinking can only be changed by the Word of God, when applied to us by the Holy Spirit.


Principle 3
Your thinking has creative power
Jeremiah 29:11
“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope”.

When God thinks, it happens. When man thinks, it happens because he is made in God’s image. You are sad because you think sadness. You are glad because you think gladness. It is not your circumstances that determine your mood, it is how you think about your circumstances. Regardless of the situation, thinking like your Father will change you to see things as He does.

Your thought-life affects everything about you, how you act, feel, live.
If you THINK negative thoughts, you will ACT in a negative way.
If you THINK sad things … you will BE sad.
If you THINK you’re sick … you will FEEL sick.
If you THINK you’re worthless… you’ll TURN OUT to be worthless.
If you THINK bad thoughts … you’ll DO bad things.
BUT … on the other hand if you THINK godly things … you’ll ACT more Godly!

Norman Cousins was hospitalized with a rare, crippling disease. When he was diagnosed as incurable, Cousins checked out of the hospital. Aware of the harmful effects that negative emotions can have on the body, Cousins reasoned the reverse was true. So he borrowed a movie projector and prescribed his own treatment, consisting of Marx Brothers films and old "Candid Camera" reruns. It didn’t take long for him to discover that 10 minutes of laughter provided two hours of pain free sleep. Amazingly, his debilitating disease was eventually reversed. After the account of his victory appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, Cousins received more than 3000 letters from appreciative physicians throughout the world.

“Beware of what you set your mind on because that you surely will become.” Ralph W. Emerson

Principle 4
Your thoughts constitute your prayer requests; do not think about that you do not want God to act upon.

Ephesians 3:20
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us..”

This passage declares that God is able to according to what we think. Will you like God to act on your thoughts? If not, change what you think about. God will respond to your thoughts because they are also your prayer requests.

Ask and you will receive; think and you will receive.
Seek and you shall find; think and you shall find.
Knock and it shall open; think and it shall open.

Principle 5
Be proactive with what occupies your mind because your life depends on it.

Phil 4:8
“Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse”.

The mind is never empty. Psychologists tell us that each person has about ten thousand thoughts per day. How many of our thoughts are of the qualities described in Philippians 4:8? The human mind is going to set itself on something. The question is on what? The best way is to keep the bad thoughts out of your mind is to concentrate on the good thoughts.


Principle 6
Your thinking determines your success in life.
Joshua 1:8
“And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed”

Your thinking = your success or lack of it. Those who set their minds on God’s Word often will be successful.
“But his delight and desire are in the law of the Lord, and on His law he habitually meditates by day and by night. And he shall be like a tree firmly planted by the streams of water, ready to bring forth its fruit in its season; its leaf also shall not fade or wither; and everything he does shall prosper. Psalm 1:2-3

“And Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide….” Genesis 24:63. I believe this is partly why he sowed and reaped a hundredfold in one year during famine. Meditation on God’s Word guarantees success in life.

Principle 7

Our behavior will change, when our thinking changes. If there is no change in your behavior, question your thinking. If someone says, “I believe in tithing” but does not tithe – then he doesn’t believe in it. You only really believe the parts of the Bible that you obey. All behavior is based on a belief. If you lie, it’s because you believe lying will cause less pain than being honest. It’s a lie, but you believe it. Eating the forbidden fruit will not bring Adam and Eve blessings – it’s a lie - but they believed it. When somebody comes to you and says, “I’m leaving my husband, and I’m going to marry this other man because I believe God wants me to be happy.” They just told you the belief behind their behavior. It’s wrong, but they believe it.

When you sin, you’re doing what you think is the best thing for you. You say, “I know God says to do that, but I’m going to do this.” You believe a lie. Behind every sin is a lie. You believe that something is good for you, even if it is an outright sin to God. When you live in sin, you’re living in deception and believing a lie. Confront these lies with the Word of God because change always starts in the mind. When you start dealing with these lies, you’ll start to see change in your life. This is what the Bible describes in Romans 12:2 as being “transformed by renewing your mind”.

How you think determines how you feel, and how you feel determines the way you act. If you want to change the way you act, you must determine the way you think. You can’t start with the action. You start with the thought. If you want to see a change in your life – change your beliefs first. If we are feeling afraid, we need to ask ourselves what we are thinking. If we are sad, we need to ask ourselves what’s in our mind that caused it. We need to change our thoughts about the situation by looking at the Word – reading, listening, studying, meditation, and memorizing it.

The Gate Opener

What’s in a gate? The dictionary definition of a gate is a point of entry to a space enclosed by walls. Gates may prevent or control entry or exit.

Biblical Significance of a Gate
A gate is a control center of a city in Bible days. Important decisions are taken at the gates of cities. They sometimes function as courts of justice. Citizens can sell or buy land there. General proclamations are made at the gates; the council running the city meets there and conferences are held there too. Public condemnation of people is made there. When the enemy wants to attack a city, the area of concentration is the gate; that is why experienced officers are placed there. Idolatrous people perform their rites there.

John 10:1-3
"I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.


Life is controlled by a gate.
Matthew 7:13-14
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Heaven has gates.
Genesis 28:17 He was afraid and said, "How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven“.
Revelation 21:25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there.

Hell has gates
Matthew 16:18 “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it”.


The enemy (Satan) has a gate
Genesis 22:16-17
“And said, I have sworn by Myself, says the Lord, that since you have done this and have not withheld [from Me] or begrudged [giving Me] your son, your only son, In blessing I will bless you and in multiplying I will multiply your descendants like the stars of the heavens and like the sand on the seashore. And your Seed will possess the gate of His enemies”.

Genesis 24:60
And they blessed Rebekah and said to her, "Our sister, may you increase to thousands upon thousands; may your offspring possess the gates of their enemies”.

The gate of the enemy is its control center and whosoever controls the gate controls the city. The gate of the enemy is our possession.

Our God is a great controller. He can break or strengthen gates.

Psalm 107:15-16
“Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men,
for he breaks down gates of bronze and cuts through bars of iron”.

Psalm 147:12-13
“Extol the LORD, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion, for he strengthens the bars of your gates and blesses your people within you”.

Gate Opener
While gates are generally speaking, physical or spiritual barriers, thank God there is a gate opener.

Psalm 100:4
“Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and a thank offering and into His courts with praise! Be thankful and say so to Him, bless and affectionately praise His name!”

There is a gate that leads the presence of God and praise is the gate opener.

Psalm 24:7-10
“Lift up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, he is the King of glory”.

Psalm 118:19-21
“Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, and I will praise the LORD.
This is the gate of the LORD, through which the righteous shall enter. I will praise you, for you have answered me, and have become my salvation”.

Praise opens the gate into God’s presence. It can also bring Him to wherever you are as experienced by Paul and Silas. Your heart-felt praise will open the gates of brass and tear apart your bars of iron. You will take possession of the gates of your enemy. Make a commitment that His praises shall be in your mouth continually.