A Consecrated Mind – Part 1

A Consecrated Mind – Part 1

By Pastor Gary Wayne

Recently, I have been enjoying listening to “The Pause.”
It’s an app on my phone for me to pause 2 times a day and spend about 10 minutes with God, re-focusing my perception of reality to match His.

From those paused moments, I keep feeling God would like us to focus on consecrating our minds to Him.
So in the next few messages, I am going to use a lot of the material John Eldredge uses in “The Pause.” John Eldredge, the New York Times Best Selling Author of Wild at Heart

Three weeks ago, in the part 1 message “How Far Is Too Far?” at the end of that message, we prayed over our minds – specifically to consecrate our minds to God. Let’s re-visit the topic of a consecrated mind.

Text: Genesis 50:20, Romans 8:5-8 5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God. {New Living Translation}

Would you consider consecrating your mental thought process to God?
To consecrate something means to give it to God, to present it to Him to be especially His.
When we consecrate something to Jesus it allows those things to come under His protection and provision.
We truly want all our life – our mental life in all its fullness – to be under the influence of the Spirit of God, governed by the Spirit.

Scripture warns us that we live in a battle for truth. That battle usually takes place in our mind. A battlefield is a place where battles are won and lost. Everyday – every moment – there is a battle going on in our minds between right and wrong, good and bad, God’s way, Satan’s way, between the Spirit and my will / flesh.

One of the things we prayed 3 weeks ago is: “I consecrate to you my interpretation of the events in my life.”

Ge 50:20 “… you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, …”

Consider Joseph and the events of his life. (Gen.37, 38-50)
Rejected by his brothers, he became the focus of their anger at their dad, misunderstood by everyone in his family, violently abducted and thrown into a pit, sold to slave-traders, finely catches a break at the house of Potiphar and becomes the head of his household, only to be lied about, and thrown into prison. Gen.39:2 “The Lord was with Joseph…”
Once in prison, he catches another break and becomes overseer of the prisoners.
He is used by God with dreams and interpretations, only to be forgotten until one day….

I don’t think Joseph had the same perspective in chapters 37-41 as he did in chapter 50.
Even with the dreams God gave him when he was young, I think Joseph must have struggled with questions – “Has the God I serve forgotten me?”

A major part of the battle our enemy wages with us is: Do we actually believe what God says about us, or do we allow circumstances – our negative experiences, the voices of those against us, my own feelings of insecurities, the voice of our enemy – to tell me what truth is?

Here is some TRUTH God speaks over you!
Ro 8:28 “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”
Jer 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.”
NIV – “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”.

We usually believe the story we tell ourselves.
An event happens, and our mind comes up with a narrative.
This morning, will you be willing to consecrate to God the interpretation of the events of your life?
Will you be willing to set down your pre-conceived evaluation of truth and allow God’s truth to not just influence you, but to change your beliefs?

Rom.12:2 “…be transformed by the renewing of your mind…”
“Let God transform you into a new person by helping you change the way you think.” (NLT)
I NEED God’s Word to wash my dirty mind. (Eph.5:26)

TAKE COMMUNION TOGETHER

Father I consecrate my mind to You.
I give You my thoughts, my focus, and attention.
I give you my memory and recall, my understanding and imagination.
I consecrate to you my interpretation of events in my life.
Holy Spirit target places I need to renew Your truth in me.