A 40 Day Experience Sermon by C. Gene Wilkes

A 40 Day Experience – Extreme Love: The Greatest Commandment Contribution by: C. Gene Wilkes Price: $3.95

Our minds are amazing things. We have an “English as a Second Language” ministry at our church. The students are mostly from Asia, and they have the same struggle with my first language that I would have with theirs. English is complicated to learn, anyway. Read the following sentences and let your mind sort through the meanings of the words. [You may want to project them on a screen so people can see them, too.]

  1. The bandage was wound around the wound. 
  2. The farm was used to produce produce. 
  3. The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse. 
  4. We must polish the Polish furniture. 
  5. He could lead if he would get the lead out. 
  6. The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert. 
  7. Since there is no time like the present, it was time to present the present. 
  8. A bass head was painted on the head of the bass drum. 
  9. When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes. 
10. I did not object to the object.

As confusing as those examples may be, our minds can be trained to discern how things that look exactly alike have different meanings.

Your mind is part of your total self that God seeks to transform into the likeness of Jesus.

You need a Christian perspective on what it means to be healthy. Here is what may be a new perspective on health for you.

Health in body, mind, and spirit are part of your life in Christ. It is not a fad, trend, or an enlightened idea. We do not consider these things because they are on the cover of so many magazines. We address them because they are part of how we serve and worship God. Care of your entire life is part of your “living sacrifice” worship of God (Rom. 12:1). Jesus called His followers to love God with heart, mind, soul, and strength (Deut. 6:4-5; Mark 12:29-31). This is a total life teaching. Let’s review a few instructions from the Bible about these areas of your life.

· Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:20). The very Spirit of God mysteriously lives in your body! This truth should guide how you care for your physical body and what you put in it. Your physical body houses the very presence of God.

· Part of your salvation is a renewing of your mind (Rom. 12:2). Renewing your mind is re-programming your mental software to be sensitive to the things of God. To love God with your mind is to be certain the facts and the principles of God’s Word are part of your thinking on all subjects.

· Everything you do is to bring glory to God (1 Cor. 10:31). Your entire life is a witness to the presence of God in your life. All that you do and say should bring honor to God. This is a whole life perspective in our love for God.

Any habits of exercise, dieting and mental growth should flow out of your relationship with God, not a desire to be accepted, live longer, or look like the latest magazine cover model. Every health-related matter in your life should be part of your loving response to God’s love toward you.

Your mind is part of the whole self Jesus told you to engage as you love the Lord, your God.

To love God “with all your mind” is to know that your mind has great influence on everything else about you.

The Bible tells us, “For as he thinks within himself, so is he” (Prov. 23:7). Our thoughts guide who we are and who we will become. Zig Ziglar is right when he tries to remove “stinking thinking” from his thoughts. What you think in your mind influences who you will become.

To love God “with all your mind” is to use your mind to focus on the things of God.

When Peter called for godly living among the churches to whom he wrote, he began with the mind. He wrote, “Therefore get your minds ready for action, being self-disciplined, and set your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 1:13). Paul was inspired to write his readers to “Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth” (Col. 3:2). He did this because he knew that where we focus our thoughts influences our actions and feelings.

When you focus your mind on the things of the King, you are more likely to become what He wants you to become.

To love God with “all your mind” is to know that your spiritual condition affects how you think.

The Bible makes it clear that the condition of our spirit affects how we think about things. Paul wrote, “For those whose live are according to the flesh think about the things of the flesh, but those whose lives are according to the Spirit, about the things of the Spirit. For the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set of the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind-set of the flesh is hostile to God because it does not submit itself to God’s law, for it is unable to do so” (Rom. 8:5-7). The Bible warns us not to let the way the world thinks about things to influence how we think. Paul wrote to the intelligent Corinthians, “No one should deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks he is wise in this age, he must become foolish so that he can become wise” (1 Cor. 3:18). When our heart is connected to the heart of God how we think about this world may come off as foolish to others. What is your goal in life? To please God or others?

Part of the sanctification process is a renewing of our mind, a new way of thinking. The Bible says, “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2). Renewal of the mind can be accomplished by a Spirit-filled life. Pursue memorization and meditation of Scripture, and the study of the Bible. It’s as simple as replacing data on your computer’s hard drive with new operating software.

To love God “with all your mind” may cause people to wonder if you are “out of your mind.”

People who think like Jesus and then act like Him may seem that they are thinking in wrong ways. Jesus’ family wondered if He was out of His mind as they watched His ministry unfold around them. Mark, the Gospel writer, recorded that “When His family heard this, they set out to restrain Him, because they said, ‘He’s out of His mind’ ” (Mark 3:21). Their assessment in human terms and in worldly categories prevented them from seeing how Jesus was more in His mind than they were.

Do you remember the movie “A Beautiful Mind”? It was a story about John Nash, a Nobel Prize winner who struggled with mental illness all his life. Here’s a review of the movie from a pastor who gives us some insight into how thinking like Jesus could be perceived by some as a sort of mental illness.

This is not a movie about the return to health after the depth of mental illness. It is a story of a return to life in the midst of mental illness. In that life is a triumph far beyond what those of us with a life filled with mental health can fully comprehend.

I also had to consider if the reality I experience might in some ways hinder me from fully seeing all that God has for me to see. Are there ways that faith and the Spirit might be bits of insanity that God gifts us with?.

Loving God with all your mind may cause others to wonder where you learned to think that way. If or when they ask, point them to Jesus, the One you love with all your mind.

C. Gene Wilkes is the pastor of Legacy Drive Baptist Church in Plano, Texas. He is the author of Jesus on Leadership: Becomming a Servant Leader, My Identity in Christ, and With All My Soul: God's Design for Spiritual Wellness, A Fit 4 Continuing Study.

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