The Power Of The Renewed Mind By: Dr. Pete Norris

Now think about a minute, where the world just got darker. No, the people have changed. Why? Because they changed their way of thinking. Guys, do you understand what we're dealing with here? We're dealing with a spiritual warfare that minds have been changed. So we're sending our young kids to college, and they're thinking totally different. They come out of there, because abortion's OK. Sleeping around's OK. Sexually transmitted diseases are OK. I'm not preaching against those things. I'm thinking I'm telling you it's right here, by not conforming our mind and truth. Welcome to Power in the Word. There's an old saying, you are what you think. For most believers, it's difficult to control their thought life, which is dominated by our worldly environment. Today, Dr. Norris reminds us of how important our thought life is and how we need to focus on renewing our mind with the word of God. It's an important message that all believers need to hear. So you stay with us and be encouraged. I want to talk about the power of your renewed mind. You say, I've heard all that. And I understand that you've heard a lot of that. But I believe that the biggest obstacle in your life today is not what you're thinking,

but it's how you're being influenced by the age and the world that we're living in to think the way they think. And I think most people don't understand why they think what they think. I think most people are told what to think, but are never told to think for themselves. I think we sending people to college and they're being programmed of how to think, instead of having the opportunity to think on their own. And so today, I think that's fallen into also the church. As the younger generation and the colleges has promoted that, I think people don't think on their own anymore. I think they think based on the system and the age that they're living in. And so today, I want you to turn to Romans 12 verse 2. And God showed me something about these scriptures that I've never seen before. And I know I've read these things a thousand times. Go to Romans 12 verse 2. And we'll talk about the power of the recreated mind and do not be conformed to what? Now that word world there is not talking about the world system, the physical world that you're not living in. That word is actually in the actual Greek. That is the word aion or the age. In other words, what that's talking about is don't be conformed to how the age that you're living in thinks. In other words, it has nothing to do with the physical world. It has everything to do with the age

and the time that the actual Greek word is on there. And it means the age and the actual time that you're not living in. In other words, don't be conformed now. The word conformed there means to form according to a pattern or a mold. I love what the JB Phillips Bible says. Don't let the world squeeze you into its mold. Now think about that in just a minute. If you can get a young generation and you can frame their mind into it's not a crime and it's not wrong to kill a baby and bring them up in that by the time they get your age, they're not going to think like you think. And we're going to say, well, this is a bad world. No, they've been squeezed into conform like this age thinks. And that's what's happening all over the world in all of our colleges, all over the world. People being squeezed into a full mold and image to think like we think. And the reality is the church has kind of died on the vine and set back and say, you know what? Well, we'll let that come on in too and we'll deal with that a little bit and we'll accept that and we've conformed to the same image. And what God is trying to reveal to us, I believe, is do not be squeezed into that mold. You and I are not to conform to the pattern of the actual age or the time that you and I are living in. In other words, what am I saying?

I'm saying this, if we're not careful, we conform, but he said, be ye what? Now, but doesn't wait with everything that happened before that. You've got preachers today that think an abortion is not murder. They didn't wake up one morning and be conformed that way. They're programmed over the age and over the time and everything becomes okay after a while. There's things that you and I watch on TV that our parents and grandparents were definitely not even attempting to watch. I'm not seeing those things that are gonna kill you and send you to hell. That's not what I'm saying. What I'm seeing is if we're not careful, our opinions change by what becomes a part of our day-to-day life. And what's happening is more in our face. So, well, maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe, maybe. But look what he said, but be transformed. That means metamorphosis. In other words, this age is coming against your mind. It's not the devil. It's the age and the season and the generation you're not living in that's coming against your mind. And if we're not careful, we gotta keep our mind renewed with what's right or we're gonna conform to what's okay. And I don't think it's a part of what's wrong or what's right, but it's what you think that determines what happens to you.

And so we go through our life and we've been conformed to this age and this crisis that we're living in instead of being transformed by the renewing of the word that'll prove what God's perfect is good, acceptable and perfect will is. How many of you believe, now I'm gonna shake you a little bit here because when I look these words up, people have taken these words good, acceptable and perfect and seems like God's got three wheels. God doesn't have three wheels. He's got one wheel and it's a perfect wheel. Now, we may accept the 30 or the 60 or the 100 fold, but the reality is God has one perfect wheel for me in you. God ain't gonna say, okay, Pete, here we go, buddy. I'm gonna let you go this way and that'll be okay for you or I'll let you go on this road and that'll be okay for you, but here's my best wheel, but I'll be okay with the other two. I don't believe God thinks like that. I think he wants us to be so conformed by the renewing of our mind that we prove the will of God. What's God's wheel? According to scripture, Matthew 6 and 10 says, "God's wheel is for heaven to come to earth." So what God is wanting me to do is not adapt to this generation and be conformed to this generation, but he wants me to bring heaven down and invade this place we call earth. And now my thinking lines up with a heavenly mentality

and not an earthly mentality. Or are you with me? And so when we think that way, everything about your life will be transformed. You mean everything about your life can be transformed by your head. And I'm not saying mind over matter. I'm saying spirit over matter. Okay, the word, the one word conformed is only used one more time in the entire Bible. And it's used in first Peter chapter one verse 14. Now that word conformed means to be squeezed into his own mode. So what he wants to do is the world wants to squeeze you into their mode. It wants to squeeze you and form you like everybody in this generation, this age things. Think about 75 years ago, how much different the world was. Think about it a minute. How's the world changed? How is your mindset changed? How is your idea? And I'm not saying everything you think is bad. I'm not saying everything in this age is bad. What I'm saying is when this thing doesn't line up with truth, it squeezes us into being conformed like the world. And if we're not careful, we think like the world things and the age things instead of think the way the truth is. Now watch this scripture.

As obedient children not conforming yourself to the former lust as in your ignorance. That's word conformed again. Squeezed into that mode of what you were. Now God has delivered you from what you were and made you absolutely pure and whole. But the world system wants to captivate your mind, wants to control your mind, wants to create you in poverty, wants you to believe you're sick, wants to believe you're gonna die early, wants you to believe that all this world system has more power than what's on the inside of you. But the power of a renewed mind is the creation of a new generation because nobody's ever been like us. So nobody's ever thought like us. Nobody's ever dreamed like us. Everybody's ever saw like us. But we cannot think and do and operate and be conformed and squeezed into the mode of this world. We've gotta come ye out from among on be ye separate, right? Now I want you to go to Psalms chapter one verse one and two. Now stay with me because the power of a recreated mind is a powerful thing here. And we say, well, you know, I'm renewing my mind with the word of God.

I'm not talking about memorization. I'm talking about transformation. Because revelation produces transformation. Transformation produces manifestation. So it's gotta be a process. It's not something happening. Now Jesus has done everything all up front. But as you begin to renew your mind, the world wants to press you into thinking like they think instead of being conformed and renewing your mind and beginning to know God's perfect will for your life. What is this perfect will? That heaven would show up on earth and we don't adapt to this world. We overcome this world. We'll go to Psalms one, one and two. But now here's what he said in Psalms. "Blessed is the man who walks not in the cancel of the what?" Or in the pass of what? Or sits in the seat of what? So he said that it ain't the man who walks or stands or sits in this places. If you walk into Council of the Ungodly, if you stand in the path of sinners, if you sit in the seat of the scornful, then there's a semicolon, and then what's verse two? But, so that does weigh with all that. His delight is in the law of the Lord. That's not talking about the commandmas. That's talking about the Word of God.

And in the Word of God, he meditates day and night. What does that do? That renews his mind so he can't be conformed to the world. See, we get conformed by the world because the more the world presses us and squeezes us, the more we begin to take. Well, maybe this is the feeling I'm supposed to have. Maybe this is really how it's supposed to be. But the reality is, as I meditate upon the Word of God, day and night, Joshua 1 and 8 says, "I will make my way prosperous, and I will have good success." So what's pressing against you? See, you fall into the traps and the thinking of the world before you even realize it. Most people are not bad people. I believe that, God showed me. People are not bad people. People just think wrong. And they think wrong based on the experiences they've been through and they accept it. This was God's will. This was God's plan. This was God's purpose. And the reality is, this is the only thing this God's perfect will is heaven coming down. 'Cause Psalms 1 19 verse 89 said, "The Word of God is forever settled in heaven." And Matthew chapter six verse 10 said, "Father, which art and heaven have be thy name,

thy kingdom come thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." That's God's perfect will. He said, "You renew your mind and you can prove what my perfect will is. But you can't, if the wall is conforming you to the wall system in the aid system, then it can't be conformed." So one or two things is gonna happen. The world's gonna bring you in and the age is gonna bring you in or the truth's gonna bring you out, correct? So the Christian is in the world but it's not of it. Now, go to John 17 16, say with me. They are not of the what? Now that's not the physical world. He's talking about here. That means the age and the on of this season. Just as I am not of this age or this season. It's not talking about the physical world. We think, I'm not like the world. I don't like the world. But do you think like the world? 'Cause if you think like the world where they act like it or not, you're in the world. 'Cause whatever man, think if that's what he is. I was with a guy just Thursday, Friday. And here's this comment to me. We were talking, he said, "Well, you know, brother, "I just kinda, you know, I just kinda believe

"that seasons are changing, times are changing. "We just need to be a little bit lenient." I'm not saying that's wrong. I'm saying, what do you mean lenient? He said, "Well, you know, people are going "through different times and the world's changed." And so, five or six or seven years ago, I just walked away and we wouldn't even have a conversation. I said, "I don't think so." Because I could've done one or two things there. I could've conformed right then to his idea and concept or I could say, "You know what, brother, "I don't think so." I think we've still been called out to be different. I think we've still been called out. And I'm not talking about being dogmatic or being mean or being harsh. I'm talking about walking in the truth and thinking the truth because if you get around somebody that's very, very smart, they can convince you pretty quickly, they're right. And if you don't oppose them, you basically said, "I agree with you." And so what happens, if we're not careful, we begin to be conformed and squeezed into the age that we're living in. Now, some of you are more than 30. So when you grew up, I'd guarantee you the way you grew up and the way your children grew up and the way your grandchildren are growing up

are three different, different ages and tons, correct? They're still in the same physical world. But now we've got parents that, well, you know, we just, we need to be easy with them. We don't need to teach them to hear it. Somebody out there told my daddy that. (audience laughing) So the world is not the physical world, but rather the age or the island that you and I are living in. So it's so easy to be conformed with this world. You know, well, you know, I've got privacy. No, you don't. No, you don't. You pay the mortgage, you pay the car payment, you buy the gas, you buy groceries, you got privacy. No, don't worry that way. Galatians 1 and 4, who gave himself for our sins that we might, he might deliver us from this present evil age. According to the will of our God, the Father, what's his will for heaven to come to earth? He's delivered us from this present age. Guys, that wasn't talking about 2,000 years ago. from the age of this world, this eye-on age that you and I are living in, think about how much more of the world's changed than it was 50 years ago when I was kid. Now, think about a minute where the world just got darker. No, the people have changed. Why? Because they changed their way of thinking. Guys, do you understand what we're dealing with here? We're dealing with a spiritual warfare that minds have been changed. So we're sending our young kids to college and they're thinking totally different when they come out of there because abortion's

okay, sleeping around's okay, sexually transmitted diseases are okay. I'm not preaching against those things. I'm thinking, I'm telling you, it's right here by not conforming our mind the truth. So, what's, and we're telling the church, you know, memorize scripture, get more scripture. No, the world creeps in and steals your mind away. It doesn't mean you got a demonic mind. It means your thinking's messed up. Let's go to 1 Peter 2 and 21. Stay with me. For to this, you were called because Christ also suffered us leaving us an example that we should follow in his. Now, the word steps in the actual Greek means we should follow in his pattern. Now, be not conformed or squeezed into a pattern of this age, but to be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove the good, acceptable, and perfect will of a law. Guys, Jesus gave us an example. Don't, what did he say all the time? I'm not, I'm not, I'm not in this world. I'm not gonna be conformed to the age of which I'm at. That's the same thing that's going on today around the world. Think about it. And I'm not trying to be mean and I'm not against Islam and I'm not against Muslims and any of that. All those, all people are not bad. But I guarantee you, if you'd have been raised in Iran, you'd be a Muslim. So somebody formed you into who you are right now. Now, go to Hebrews 6 and 5. I want you to stay with me. The power of you in your mind and have tasted the good word of God and the power of the age to come. In other words, which you've tasted of the word of God, no matter what age comes, you can rise above that age or that generation or that ion that's coming against you when you think right. But if you don't think right, the world will conform you to the way that they think. And before long you'll be thinking just like they're thinking. That's exactly what's happened to pastors all over the world. Because all over the world now, people, not all over the, yes, all over the world, pastors are there saying, you know, it's okay, if you're a homosexual, be a pastor. Guys, come on. Those guys really think they're right because they've been, they've been conformed and squeezed into the mode of the age. All these people are not bad people. Their thinking process has been messed up. Jesus comes along and says, you know what, I've delivered you from this present age and the way that people

think in this period of time. That's why He talks about the present age. Now, believers live by the power of the age to come even while residing in this world or this age. Think about it a minute. Why is dinosaurs no longer here? They couldn't adapt. Why does people die? I think they die because they can't adapt. I'm not saying that we need to change. We need to stay with the truth. Jesus came into the church, in the scribes, in the Pharisees, and they couldn't deal with them. He wouldn't adapt or conform to their laws and the way they did things. And because that, He couldn't stay here. Being you're not intended to be here because we're not composed to conform to the age of the world. We're supposed to conform and be transformed by the Word of God and have our minds renewed back to the way it was in the garden to bring heaven down to earth. And that's why we can no longer stay here because you lose sight of this world. This world can't contain you anymore. And that's the power of renewing your mind back to the divine purpose of which God had it for. People don't mean to slip away. People don't mean to go off into the world and be adapted to the world. They just do it because of the generation of the times that we're living in. Little Rama swerving too in the in the Passion Bible. I want to show you something. Stop imitating the ideas and the opinions of the culture around you. But by the inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit to a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God's will as you live a beautiful life. Setify and perfect in His eyes. Now watch this. Stop imitating. Stop trying to be like the Bible said we should imitate Him. Guys you've got to change what you think you cannot think. That's why there's so many mixed emotions about this message of Jesus and the grace message is because so many people can't separate the two. Grace is not an avenue for you to do anything in the world you wanna do or think anyway the world you wanna think. It just magnifies how big God really is

and how much you totally depend on Him and not the world system. Listen, this age will destroy you. - Thank you. - You ever heard people make this statement? My grandma and grandpa roll over in this time right now. Hey, get up out of there, Grace. They knew what happened in the church. They kept building. Think about it. I'm not saying they were all right or they were all wrong. I'm not saying that at all. But what's happening in our lives is we're being drawn into the culture of this world and don't even recognize it. Now I want you to go to the new living translation in Romans 12 and two, what's this? Don't copy the behavior or the customs of this world but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you'll learn to know God's will for you which is good and pleasing and perfect. - Amen. - God, don't copy the behavior of the world. I don't know of anybody I wanna be like but Jesus. I don't wanna be like Donald Trump. I don't wanna be like the Pope but I sure enough wanna be like Jesus. - Amen. - Amen.

- I really wanna be like, every day of my life I wanna look like Jesus when I wanna copy that system. Now that's not easy living in this world we're living in. I'm gonna try to my best to think like God thinks, do what God would do and let him take care of the rest. Amen. 'Cause if he can't look after me, I tried for 25 years of looking after Pete and I didn't do too well. But we got a great big God that he said if I'll transform my mind and be not conform to this world, he's not talking, not trying to see some of us, most people don't mean to be conformed. They just give a little bit right here and they give a little bit right here. And then before they realize it, their whole thinking process is messed up. Think about it. The Bible says man commits adultery 'cause he lacks understanding. What's the understanding he lacks? And then you can use that scripture and then you can go up here to Palm Palm and say, you can do anything you want to. Some things are just not profitable. I mean, you gotta be able to discern that bad boy 'cause I can take that run with it. Well, Pete can do anything he wants to do. I can leave that last part out.

It just might not be profitable. And so I'm gonna run and do all kinds of stuff but there's gonna be consequences for it. Go to Romans eight. Now think about it a minute. And here he tells you what to do. For those who live according to the flesh, they set their minds on the things with the flesh. Now I wanna make a comment right here just a minute. And it's gonna sound like I'm preaching law today and I'm not, I'm preaching grace. But wherever you let your mind go, if you let it go long enough, it's gonna take your body with it. It's gonna take your heart with it. It's gonna take every part of you with it. You can sit and think about her long time. It's gonna get you. Listen, people don't just meet on the street. Whoa, how about that? Let's go home and be intimate. That doesn't happen. You set your mind on the things that is flesh but those who live according to the spirit, the things of the spirit. In other words, the ones that walk in the spirit realm are the ones that set their mind on a constant. So you gotta get up and do this every morning. You may be further along than me. But one day I might have a tremendous day

and I can just think about Jesus all day. But the next day I get up, I gotta deal with this again. And we start that whole process all over again and all over again. And then I got to get that mind back in tune again. Every day I gotta get up and talk to it. Every day I gotta get up and talk to it. Every day I gotta get up and talk to it. Because wherever you set your mind, that's where your body's gonna run. And I ain't talking about going out sleeping around. That's not what I'm talking about. What do you think? What do you think? And so you gotta control this mind every single day. You've got to keep this mind from going where it don't need to go. Look at verse six. For to be carnally minded is gonna bring death to you. What does carnally minded mean? Set your mind on the things of this age and this system that we're living in. But the spiritual mind is gonna be life and peace. How many of you have perfect life and perfect peace all the time? Those are the times that you're thinking about other things that you don't need to be thinking about. This is how powerful this thinking process is in renewing your mind. You've got to keep control of this mind every day,

every moment of your life. It'll take you on a journey. You don't need to go. It'll keep you longer and you want to pay and stay and it'll cost you more than you want to pay. This man is your biggest enemy because it ain't been renewed. It's being renewed, but it ain't been renewed yet. Even though you have the mind of Christ, you ain't discovered a jet. Look at verse seven. Because the carnal mind is many against God. In other words, the carnal mind cannot believe God. For it's not subject to the law of God. It's not subject to the word of God. Nor in reality, can it be? It can't be. You're always gonna have to deal with your head. Your head is not your friend. Your mind is a horrible leader, but it's a tremendous student. How many of you have struggle of going out sleeping around? See, none of you. How many of you have struggled with your head once in a while and how you're feeling and what's going on around you? And what you're thinking about and what you're seeing people. You get mad with people and you get taught with people and you get upset with people and you struggle with people. And then you think about other experiences after that and you just get madder.

And then you tell people, well, I've forgiven 'em. Then you see 'em and you ain't forgiven 'em. 'Cause it rises up on the inside of you again, right? Just when I see 'em, I thought I'd forgiven them. You had as long as they stay 10,000 miles away from you. Why? Because you didn't change the way you think. Listen, you can't forgive people on your own. It's got to be God's supernatural power. You got to do it. You can't forgive yourself. 90% of people are living in bondage today because they haven't forgiven their self. They don't know how. And the reason you haven't forgiven yourself is the way you think. If you knew that you were forgiven, you wouldn't say you're not forgiven. It's your thinking process. You don't know about the finished work of Christ. What he's really done. He wants to control your mind, but you have all rights to it. You gotta give him rights to it. Look at Versailles. So then, those who are in the flesh, they can't please God. 'Cause when you want to, what did Romans 7 say? When you want Paul sinned. When I wanted to do good evil, so ever present. And then Revelation, I mean, Romans chapter eight, verse one,

he got a revelation. Therefore, there is no condemnation that sins in Christ Jesus. That was the end of it. He didn't say those that won't cool in the flesh or don't walk cool in the flesh. That was added. He said, "Your flesh can't please God." But your flesh is the way you think. If you don't control the way you think, you always act down. Remember when you were 18 or 19? I was thinking about when he was, he said he was 19 today. When I was turned 19, I wasn't in charge. I was sitting around thinking about Jesus. Only Jesus I was serving was Pete. Pete was his only God. Think about it. What was wrong? My thinking process. What's the difference in me today than when I was 19? I think differently. - Thank you for joining us today at Power and the Word. All of us here at Harvest Fellowship Church want you to know that God is not mad with you, but he loves you so very much. And he has a plan for your life. Please feel free to contact us here at Harvest Fellowship Church at our website, harvestfellowshipchurch.net. So until next week, please remember,

there's power in the Word. (gentle music)