RENEWAL 2026: The Renewed Mind 1-25-26

RENEWAL 2026: The Renewed Mind 1-25-26

INTRODUCTION

Renewal 2026!

We have hope of renewed strength, spirit, and joy. We have that promise! God is the source of our renewed strength, spirit, and joy. We are renewed. We have a new self.

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭28‬-‭30‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

““Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.””

‭‭ Matthew‬ ‭11‬:‭28‬-‭30‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

David Roher said,

“The motor home has allowed us to put all the conveniences of home on wheels. A camper no longer needs to contend with sleeping in a sleeping bag, cooking over a fire, or hauling water from a stream. Now he can park a fully equipped home on a cement slab in the midst of a few pine trees and hook up to a water line, a sewer line and electricity. One motor home I saw recently had a satellite dish attached on top. No more bother with dirt, no more smoke from the fire, no more drudgery of walking to the stream. Now it is possible to go camping and never have to go outside. We buy a motor home with the hope of seeing new places, of getting out into the world. Yet we deck it out with the same furnishings as in our living room. Thus nothing really changes. We may drive to a new place, set ourselves in new surrounding, but the newness goes unnoticed, for we’ve only carried along our old setting.”

David Roher

Paul Fritz, Sermon Central, July 18, 2002.

God has changed us to that we can live a new life free of the old attachments. As God changes us, we are even given a renewed mind.  The old has gone; the new has come.

I. THE RENEWED MIND

Joseph Smith wrote this in “Standing Close to the Lightning Strike.”

God’s Grace Is Like Lightning and Transforms Whoever it Strikes.

Martin Luther found that out. Walking through the forest one day, praying and working through spiritual torment, literally, the lightning did strike close by. And he felt that as the summons of God. Luther came closer, and when God sent the lightning strike, it was grace. It was what he needed to turn his life around.

John Wesley found it out. Serving as a missionary in the Georgia penal colony, he was a miserable failure. He sailed home in distress, not sure what he would do with the rest of his life. But in a little chapel in Aldersgate Street in London, listening to someone comment on the Scripture, Wesley says that he "felt his heart strangely warmed, and did know that Christ was his savior." Wesley came closer, and when the lightning struck and God got his attention, he found that it was grace, all grace, and hope.

Jim Vaus found it out. As a professional criminal, working for the Cohen gang in New York City, Vaus chose to steal, swindle, maim, or even kill to get what he wanted. But there was a nagging feeling inside that it meant nothing. The things that do not satisfy. The FBI arrested Jim Vaus and he was sent to prison. But in prison he heard the gospel, and knew that it was for him. The last I knew, Jim Vaus, ex-criminal, ex-con, was running a youth ministry in a place aptly called Hell’s Kitchen. The lightning struck, and it was grace.

Joseph Smith, “Standing Close to the Lightning Strike,” 11/19/2009.

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭22‬-‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

‭‭ Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭22‬-‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

A. Old desires

B. New attitudes

C. New self

1. Like God in true righteousness

2. Like God in true holiness

II. THE TRANSFORMED MIND

Most people do not understand how change happens.

A family from a remote area was making their first visit to a big city.

They checked in to a grand hotel and stood in amazement at the impressive sight.

Leaving the reception desk they came to the elevator entrance.

They’d never seen an elevator before, and just stared at it, unable to figure out what it was for.

An old lady hobbled towards the elevator and went inside.

The door closed.

About a minute later, the door opened and out came a stunningly good-looking young woman.

Dad couldn’t stop staring.

Without turning his head he patted his son’s arm and said, "Go get your mother, son."

Owen Bourgaize, “Transformed by an Elevator,” Citation, Castel, Guernsey, United Kingdom.

‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

‭‭ Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭1‬-‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Ajai Prakash tells the story about watermelon growers in Japan.

Farmers in Zentsuji, Japan, are preparing full-grown watermelons for shipment -- only these are no ordinary melons: they're square! They were placed in tempered-glass cubes while they were still growing. Why would anyone want a square watermelon? They’re much easier to store in a refrigerator! It’s amusing to think of how a naturally round watermelon can become square because of the shape of the container in which it’s grown.

This reminds me of the forces in the world that exert their influence on us and attempt to shape us. That’s why in Romans 12: 2 we are told not to be "conformed to this world," but to be "transformed by the renewing of [our] mind." The idea is rather simple: We are to allow the transforming Word of God to work within us and produce outward results, instead of permitting external pressures to shape us.

Ajai Prakash, Recall Notice, 8/14/2012.

A. Worship-focused

B. Nonconformity

C. The transformed mind

D. Capable of knowing God’s will

III. THE RENEWED WAY OF THINKING

Bob George wrote in Growing in Grace,

When you first met “J.E.”, you could tell he was a very angry man. In fact, at age 54 he’d been an angry person for many years. In a Bible study that night, many questions had been raised in his mind. Talking with the leader afterward, J.E. said, “I asked Jesus to be my Savior when I was 9 years old. But nobody ever taught me about who I am in Christ, that I’m accepted by God or that Christ lives in me.”

“What were you taught?” the Bible study leader asked.” “Where I grew up, we heard all the time about how perfect Christ was and about how we should learn to live like Him – if we didn’t, God would judge us.” J.E. went on, “It didn’t take me long, I’d say in my teen years, to figure out that I was never going to cut it. So I gave up trying. I guess I’ve been living in guilt and running from God ever since. Off and on through the years I tried to go back to church, but I just got more guilt piled on top of me. I’ve sat under so many teachers who made me fearful that I was afraid to turn in any direction because God was going to get me. This is the first Bible study I’ve ever attended that gave me any hope” J.E. concluded.

At that point, J.E. was 54 years old. That means, even though he had been born again through trusting Jesus Christ at a young age, he had spent at least 35 years running away from God. Tragically, his experience isn’t that unusual. Thousands of people who sincerely responded to the gospel message they were taught spend years thrashing around trying to make it work, but without success. In fact, I believe the reason so many Christians struggle in living the Christian life is their lack of understanding of their new life in Christ.

Bob George, Growing in Grace, pages 59-60.

A. New thinking begins with you

‭‭Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.”

‭‭ Romans‬ ‭12‬:‭3‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

B. The renewed way

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

‭‭ Philippians‬ ‭4‬:‭4‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

1. Everything begins with praise.

2. Everything is followed by prayer.

3. Peace comes from a new way of thinking

4. Right thoughts lead to right actions!

CONCLUSION

Roger Bannister was an Olympian. Every four years we have the games. Four minutes was the fastest record to ever run the mile. Ever since statisticians kept records, they knew that no one would could ever beat that record. But Roger Bannister didn't listen to them--he went out and broke it and made sports history. Hundreds of years of record keeping--poof! But here is the most interesting part. After Roger broke the record, within ten years 336 runners broke that record also. What happened?

Simple. The barrier was in the athlete's minds. They had believed what the experts said. They were convinced no on could break the record.

The point: You will never go beyond the barriers in your own mind. If you think you can't, you won't and never will try. If you are defeated in your mind, you've already lost the battle.

Michael West, "Breaking the Curse," no date.

We have been given a new mind. We have been given a transformed mind. We have been given a new way of thinking.

INVITATION

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins     and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.