MY REDEMPTION HERITAGE PART 2

MY REDEMPTION HERITAGE PART 2

THE RENEWING OF OUR MINDS

Romans 12:2 *And be ye not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.*

*The state of the mind is man’s seat of power.* Paul understood that man is a product of what he abhors in his mind whether good or bad. (Proverbs 23:7- As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he). What we feed on as natural beings determines our outlook and in the long run affect so many areas of our life. If we have to feed healthy for our physical self to stay healthy, then the same has to work for our spiritual self. If we decide to go after the flesh alone, then we will reap of the flesh as the word of God has rightly said, but if what pertains to us most is the reaping of the spirit, then it is what we sow that we reap. (Galatians 6:8- For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the spirit shall of the spirit reap life everlasting). No farmer goes to his farm, everyday doing nothing and expects to reap a bountiful harvest. The same way, in the physical realm, you have to sow before you reap; it also applies in the realm of the spirit. Like the elders will say, it is what a bird eats, that it takes to fly. We are supposed to continually feed our spirit man in order to reap the benefits on the day of harvest.

When we are talking about the fruits of the spirit, it is not just for anybody but for those who have sown the seeds of the spirit. If we want to enjoy the fruits, then first we have to sow in the seeds and water those seeds. When Paul was admonishing the brethren to continually renew their minds, he was indirectly saying, these seeds I have planted in you; continue to sow them and continue to water them. Our renewal of mind is vital for every Christian; even Jesus had an understanding of this when he gave the parable of the sower, every land got the seeds but what each did with the seeds determined the products, determined the fruits. Those that fell on good grounds and bare fruits were those that, after the seeds have been planted, they continually nurtured and watered it till it grew, germinated and bore fruits. 

We may ask, why do we need to renew our minds? The bible tells us if we faint in the days of adversity, then our strength is small (Proverbs 24:10 paraphrased). To constantly remain in the realm of unwavering strength, unshakable faith, forever access to the fruits of the spirit, we have to pay attention to nurturing.  Everything has an expiry date, your car that you use, the day it becomes faulty, it tells you I am closer to my expiry date, so it’s up to you to know what to do to make sure that expiry date is not tomorrow, maybe you need to service it, put some oil there, leave it for some time-anything it is. Paul had an understanding that if we do not take care of the engine of our spirit, it will one day knock. You hear of backsliding Christians, or “I was born again before but now I don’t think I am”. All these were what apostle Paul already saw, the days of tribulation, the days of challenges when our faith will be tried, when all we know about God and His kingdom will be tested. Our strength to stand in these times will depend on how renewed our minds are. To renew, you make something that is old or seemingly old, new again.

How can we then renew our minds? Following the footsteps of our biblical fathers, Abraham wavered not at the promises; he kept the faith because he was constantly in a state of check. We will see in the bible, certain phrases; God appeared unto Him; God told Abraham, Arise go, Take thy son and so on. This shows that there was this daily communion with God, such that is missing in our lives today, even in the church of God. Everyone is too busy with their life schedule that they forget the things of the spirit. Let us look at the life of Solomon, he was after all the king; Like any other king, he must have watched his father David and must have seen everything a king has to be or needs in order to really be a king but still he did not ask for all the wealth in the world, he did not ask for any other thing, but he was kingdom focused; he asked for wisdom to lead God’s people. If a blank cheque is given to us by God today, with the look of things around, so many will write a lot of things and when we check, none will be God centered, kingdom centered. We are  busy chasing after certain things, leaving the things of God  which we should attend to unattended to and now when things fall apart like Chinua Achebe’s book, we then retrace our steps back to GOD. Let’s be practical, if you and I were God, what will our response be? So, daily communion with GOD is the most important renewing process we have to all undergo.

How do we then do this? Give in totally to the place of prayer, continue to engage this altar.  Also, give in to the Word of God, give in to fellowship, spread the good news of the gospel. One way to be a master is to first go through the school, go through the school of God.  The same way in the natural realm, if you don’t show up to school for a day, your teachers will be worried, even some will come by visiting depending on how good a student we are; let God think this of us. “My son, I have not seen you today, what is the matter?”  Lastly, let us be kingdom oriented; he said Go into the world and preach ye the gospel (Mark 16:15). Use all you have for the purpose of the kingdom, it is a way of rendering service unto God and also renewing our minds. If our minds are renewed constantly, then we can be sure of inheriting the fruits thereof.