The Mind

Romans 12:1-2

Introduction
The ultimate purpose of sacrificing our bodies to God is that our minds may in turn be yielded to the will of God. Man is a trichotomy. Man is made up of a body, a soul and a spirit. All three of these are different; however, all three are connected. There is a scriptural connection of heart and mind. And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Hebrews 4:12 Jesus stated, concerning the link between the heart and the mind, For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. Mark 7:21-23 Consider a factory. There are different machines within a factory that perform different functions. Some machines generate and
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produce parts. Other machines are used to assemble the premade parts. The same connection is the heart and the mind. The heart and the mind are two machines found within the factory of the body. The heart produces and generates our thoughts. The mind organizes, assembles and transmits our thoughts. Brain facts: The weight of the human brain is about 3 pounds. Your skin weighs twice as much as your brain. The brain is made up of about 75% water. There are no pain receptors in the brain, so the brain can feel no pain. There are 100,000 miles of blood vessels in the brain. The human brain is the fattest organ in the body and may consist of at least 60% fat. At birth, your brain was almost the same size as an adult brain and contained most of the brain cells for your whole life. Your brain stopped growing at age 18. Your brain uses 20% of the oxygen and blood in your body. The old adage of humans only using 10% of their brain is not true. Every part of the brain has a known function. You cant tickle yourself because your brain distinguishes between unexpected external touch and your own touch. A world-champion memorizer, Ben Pridmore, memorized 96 historical events in 5 minutes and memorized a single, shuffled deck of cards in 26.28 seconds. Everyone dreams, even if you dont remember it.

 Harvard maintains a Brain Bank where over 7,000 human brains are stored for research purposes. The average number of thoughts that humans are believed to experience each day is 70,000. http://www.nursingassistantcentral.com/blog/2008/100-fascinatingfacts-you-never-knew-about-the-human-brain/ God gives many defining characteristics of the type of mind He desires us to have. There are three that I believe stand as the broader categories which everything falls into:

1. A smart mind
A spiritual mind A sheltered mind God does not desire any person to be stupid and illiterate. If He did desire us to be stupid and illiterate, then He would not have given us a 66-chapter Book about Himself. There are people with different learning abilities and restraints. Yet, for the most of us, God does not desire us to be unintelligent. Smart a slang word for intelligence or common sense. We often define the word smart by knowledge, intelligence and/or wisdom. Knowledge is indeed a proper measure for intelligence, or smartness.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1 There are four elements that make up the substance of faith (Brother Butch Mullins): Knowledge knowledge of truth Belief belief in that truth; belief that it is indeed true Trust trust in that truth personally Rest rest in that truth Thus, knowledge is the first aspect of our faith. There is no such thing as blind faith. One must know who Jesus Christ is before they can believe on Him. Note the words of Romans 10:13-14: For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? There is no such thing as someone who was born a Christian. Every Christian that has ever existed had to first know who Christ is. A smart mind is studious Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 God has not gifted everyone with the same mind or mental capacity to learn. However, God has to some extent given everyone the charge to study to His approval. Gods approval is not the same for everyone.
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God knows how much ability one person has compared to another person. God is not necessarily concerned about how much you know, but rather about whether or not you are studying to know more. A smart mind

2. A spiritual mind
A sheltered mind A spiritual mind is selfless Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:5-8 While He walked the earth, Jesus Christ had a selfless mind. It is often told that we are to have a Christ-like mind. When we have a Christ-like mind, the thoughts are driven away from ourselves and towards others. For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to

think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Romans 12:3 A spiritual mind is sober For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. Romans 12:3 To think soberly means to think seriously. God desires people to think seriously. This does not mean that we are to walk around with a serious face all the time and never laugh. However, it does mean that our jokes need to be clean and appropriate. Stop joking about gay people. Their sin is not a laughing matter! Young men likewise exhort to be sober minded. In all things shewing thyself a pattern of good works: in doctrine shewing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, Sound speech, that cannot be condemned; that he that is of the contrary part may be ashamed, having no evil thing to say of you. Titus 2:6-8 A sober mind will breed sober actions. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report;

if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8 A spiritual mind is single My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing. If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. James 1:2-8 A double mind will produce hasty decisions based upon emotion. A double mind will affect your prayer life. A person with a double mind will receive nothing from God. Make up your mind that you are going to serve Christ, and stick to it! A spiritual mind is sound For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 A sound mind is disciplined. A sound mind has self control. A sound mind is stable. Stability in life will be aided by a sound, stable mind. Often times our problems are not problems at all, but excuses.
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A spiritual mind is simple A simple mind is the type of mind that God created man with. Before Adam acquired the knowledge of good and evil by eating the fruit, he had a simple mind. He did not know evil. His mind was pure and simple. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. Genesis 2:17 Having a simple mind means having a mind that God initially intended men to have. A smart mind A spiritual mind

3. A sheltered mind
If God has gracefully given you intelligence and an ability to learn, do not neglect it. If God has given you a spirituality that is scriptural and stable, then do not trash it. To have a sheltered mind means to have a mind that is protected from the world. It is sheltered from evil sights. One of the two gates that lead to the heart and mind is the eyes. Sometimes this is referred to as the eye-gate.
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The images that we see enter into our mind and go into our heart. Images are very hard to get out of the mind sometimes, especially an image that we know is not good. Shelter your mind and heart from evil and worldly sights. Do not go to porn sites! Do not look at filthy magazines! Do not watch bad movies! Shelter yourself! It is sheltered from evil sounds. The second gate that leads to the heart and the mind is the ear-gate. The things that we hear have a substantial role in the thoughts that we think. The massacre provoked debate regarding gun control laws, the availability of firearms in the United States, and gun violence involving youths. Much discussion also centered on the nature of high school cliques, subcultures, and bullying, as well as the role of violent movies and video games in American society. The shooting resulted in an increased emphasis on school security, and a moral panic aimed at goth culture, social outcasts, the gun culture, the use of pharmaceutical anti-depressants by teenagers, violent films and music, teenage internet use, and violent video games. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbine_High_School_massacre#cite_ note-nais-1 Take caution to what you allow yourself to see and hear.
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Conclusion
The mind is a vast storage unit that collects everything that enters into it. It is connected to the heart and is highly volatile. Let it not be said of us as it was said of the generation before the flood: And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:5

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