Introduction
Bishop TJ McBride started a new series called It's A New Season. It's been declared that in the second quarter of the year, God will elevate and accelerate you into a greater season beyond your imagination! This is your new season of indescribable joy, peace beyond your understanding, prosperity in every area of your life, good health and strength, and answers and solutions. First, there are some things we need to address when walking into our new season, and that is renewing your mind.
Renew means to reestablish, restore, and revive. If you're a member at Tabernacle of Praise Church Int'l, you know that Bishop McBride has declared 2024 the Year of Revival. Renewing your mind involves some revival to take place in your spirit so your mind can come into alignment with the Holy Spirit. Why does our mind need to be in alignment with the Holy Spirit? According to Psychology and Healthline articles, humans have, on average, 6,200 per day, and 95% of those thoughts are repetitive. So now we must ask ourselves, what are we continually rehearsing in our minds? What are we constantly meditating on every day, and is it of God?
So, how do we renew our minds? By changing the way we think. Romans 2:12 in the New Living Translation says, "Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good, pleasing, and perfect."' Here are three ways we can invite God to transform our minds and change the way we think.
Identify what you're rehearsing
Let's do a self-check. Take a moment to identify what has been plaguing your mind. Are you more worried than having faith in God? Are you always snappy and angry because of a trauma? Are you naturally pessimistic because you are hope-deferred? Ask God to search your heart and bring forward what's been polluting your mind.
Once you identify what you've been continually thinking about, ask God to heal you emotionally, physically, spiritually, and mentally. This healing may come through Christian counseling or therapy, this healing could come through deliverance, or it can be an instant breakthrough. Look within yourself and see if you need to forgive someone or release a grudge you've been carrying. Once transformation has taken place in your mind, you will know the will of God for you, which is good, pleasing, and perfect (Romans 12:2). Allow God to heal you from the inside out. Then, you will have a transformed mind, the mind of Christ.
Put on the mind of Christ
When Jesus prayed to God about going through with His crucifixion, He asked God to take this assignment away from Him. But He concluded the prayer with, "Not my will, but Your will be done." (Luke 22:42). What does it mean to put on the mind of Christ? Simply put, it means to humble yourself to God's will even when it hurts.
His will is His word, and God never goes back on His word. When Jesus said, "Your will be done," it's because, in the Old Testament, it was prophesied that the Messiah would die for us and take away the sins of the world (Isaiah 53). So, His word had to be fulfilled through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. It's the same way when He tells us to forgive the person who lied about us. It's because His will (His word) says to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). When He tells us not to go on that vacation because we can't afford it, it's because His will says hasty decisions lead to poverty (Proverbs 21:5). When God tells us to take our prescribed medicine and follow our doctor's instructions while still believing in Him to do complete healing, it's because His will says faith without works is dead (James 2:20). Humbling ourselves is complete surrender.
There's strength and greatness in submitting to His will because Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." There's more God has for us when we completely surrender to Him. When you walk in humility as Jesus did, you have put on the mind of Christ, taking up your cross and following Him.
Crucify your old self
Renewing our minds means crucifying our flesh daily. Galatians 5:24-25 says, "And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." If we call ourselves believers, we are called to crucify our fleshy passions and desires and walk in the Spirit. How do we do that? By drawing close to God through daily prayer, Bible reading *and* studying, and often fasting.
The more we draw near to God, the more He draws near to us. The more time we spend in His presence, the stronger our spirit becomes. Eventually, cussing is removed from our mouths. Substitutions that we use to cope with pain, such as drugs, alcohol, and fornication, are no longer appealing. It becomes easier to forgive and let go of grudges. That's when healing can fully flow, deliverance can take place, and God can unharden our hearts. When we humble ourselves to His will, we essentially are crucifying our own will and desires that are outside of God's will for us, and become more like Him. We become truly transformed from the inside out.
Summary
God is calling us to renew our minds by identifying what's been plaguing our minds, humbling ourselves and putting on the mind of Christ, and crucifying our old selves by drawing close to God to become more like Him. Let's say this prayer together:
"Father, I thank you for being a restoring God. I ask that you renew my mind. I surrender my mind, my body, my marriage, my family, my job, my career, my finances, my relationships, and my life to you because you know what's best for me. I trust in your will and humbly submit to it. Reveal to me what's been plaguing my mind. Help me to put on the mind of Christ and to do your will. Please give me the strength to crucify my flesh daily to become more like you. Thank you in advance for the transformative work that has begun this day. In Jesus' Name. Amen!"
If you haven't or have already, watch Renew Your Mind by Bishop TJ McBride as he further breaks down these points towards transformation.