God’s Point of View: See Who He Is, and Who You Are in Him - Bill Johnson Sermon | Bethel Church

0:00 Faith doesn't deny a problem's existence. It denies it a place of influence. When I find myself going into fear mode, anxiety mode, stress mode, it's always because I started at the wrong place. I started with my limited resources instead of starting with His nature and His promises. Thanks. Nice to see you. Glad you showed up. I have a few very important things to read saw several funny things this week that I thought I felt a real burden to share with you today it is inhumane in my opinion to force people who have a genuine medical need for coffee to wait in line behind people who apparently view it as some kind of recreational activity you It's a picture of a child, head bowed, his hands over his eyes.

1:19 It says, my dad would swear and then say, excuse my French. One day the teacher asked if anyone could speak a foreign language, and I raised my hand. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. The five stages of waking up.

1:55 Last one. The first child eats dirt Parent calls the doctor Second child eats dirt Parent cleans its mouth out Third child eats dirt Parent wonders if she really needs to feed him lunch I mean, there's a slight difference between the third and fourth child and the first one. Yeah, yeah. Thought you might appreciate that. All right, open your Bibles to the Gospel of Mark. And we'll start in the fourth chapter, fifth chapter. And what I'm going to do today is I actually, this last week in the healing school, did something I've only done once before. actually in the way I did it.

2:50 I'm going to repeat. I'm going to have us look again at something we've looked at off and on for the last probably 15 years. So it's all repeat, but it's going to be all in one message. I'm going to give you actually four actual different messages that would normally take about 45 minutes to an hour each. And because I believe in miracles, We're going to cram it all into one. And I did it in the healing school this week. So those of you that are here, either the Lord is punishing you or he felt like you might forget it. So we're going to go over it again. I'm doing this because I carry this conviction about the power and importance of the renewed mind. I don't think it's possible to exaggerate the value of the renewed mind. When you think about the nature of the gospel, Jesus began the ministry in his decree to people, John the Baptist as well, the same statement.

3:50 They said, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. The word repent includes expressions like confession of sin, weeping at an altar, receiving forgiveness. But that's not what the word actually means. The word actually means to change the way you think. And the renewed mind is sustained repentance. The renewed mind is actually living in that place of changed perspective on how reality functions. And so the Lord takes us into a series of insights, a series of experiences, that are all intended to teach us about the unseen world. We know this from Scripture, that what is seen is temporal, temporary. What is unseen is eternal. So that means then what we can't see will last forever. It is actually superior in every way.

4:47 What we can see is inferior and actually is shaped by what you can't see. The renewed mind lives without awareness. It's not imagination. It's not mind over matter. It is actually being anchored into a superior reality. Faith operates out of a greater reasoning. faith operates out of a greater awareness of reality all right so what we're going to do is we're going to look at four different stories and i have to do them rather quickly to to make this time schedule for this morning so we're starting in chapter four of mark and well they're going to read a lot of scripture so keep your bibles open and i'll just kind of walk you through this all right verse 35 is where we'll start on the same day when evening had come he said to them let us cross over to the other side. Now when they had left the multitude, they took him along in the boat as he was, and other little boats were also with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat so that it was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they woke him and said to him, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?

6:04 Then he arose and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Peace be still. And the wind ceased and there was great calm. But he said to them, Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? I feel like we get into, well-meaning people get into religious ruts. Religious ruts where we forget to think about, to dwell on, to meditate, to discover how the kingdom of God actually works. And this hits one of them right square in the head. Who is Jesus? Yeah, this isn't a trick question. You're looking at me like, you don't know?

6:49 There'll be no trick questions today, all right? I'm going to be nice all day long. Who is Jesus? He's God. What do we call conversation with God? Prayer. So the disciples pray. Jesus gets up. He answers their prayer and then turns to them and says, Why don't you have any faith? Now, I grew up thinking that answers to prayer were the evidences of faith. Now, I wouldn't want to say answers to prayer are not valuable, but the kingdom awareness, the kingdom mind, the renewed mind, lives with an awareness that sometimes God wants to do something through you and not for you. the renewed mind lives with an awareness that sometimes God wants to do something through you and not for you.

7:44 This is the renewed mind. What did Jesus do in this situation? Well, first of all, he slept during a storm. I hope you don't get tired of this statement, but we've said it countless times through the years. You only have authority over the storm you can sleep in. In other words, the place where you have peace is where you have authority to bring peace.

8:09 What did Jesus do in this situation? He says, he rebuked the wind and the waves, and he spoke or released peace over the storm, and the chaos outside of him had to submit to the peace that was inside of him. so his internal reality became his external reality the world that was in him remember jesus taught this the kingdom is within you which to me means all kingdom issues are heart issues and when heart issues are dealt with the world around you has to yield itself to your personal internal victory so what do we have in this story we have number one the renewed mind lives with an awareness that sometimes God wants to do something through you and not for you. The renewed mind lives with an awareness that your internal victories become your external victories. We put it a different way. The world around you, when you know what you're doing, when you know how to utilize the tools that God gives you, the world around you starts to take the shape of the world that is in you. Now, you and I know this instinctively, whether you've thought through it or not is another matter, but we know this instinctively. We've had people, maybe we've walked into a room, we felt incredible tension in a room, or maybe fear. Maybe we've talked to a friend and they're smiling on the outside. Everything looks fine on the outside, but we can feel the fear or the hatred or the bitterness or whatever it is that's going on inside of them, you can feel it because they're leaking. That internal reality is starting to shape. And how many have seen this before? Somebody becomes hostile and bitter and they may not say it, but they walk into a room and people around them start getting hostile and irritated and angry. Why? Because that thing that is in them is starting to define the world around them. Now what the Lord has done is he has instructed us deal with what's going on on the inside. Why? It will position you to redefine the nature of the world around you. All right?

10:13 One last point on this before we move on is notice that Jesus rebuked the storm. The very fact that he rebuked the storm, to me, implies there was a demonic force in the storm. The church frequently gives God credit for disaster. saying, well, that was the hand of God bringing judgment or discipline or whatever to people. No, Jesus rebuked it because there was a power in the storm that was not of God. So the renewed mind then looks at obstacles, not believing it's the hand of the Lord. Here's the problem. When you see disaster, calamity, crisis started by God, when you believe that in your heart of hearts, when you think that way, then you lose your ability to discern what is actually demonic and what is actually from the Lord.

11:20 Because you've put the devil's work into the category of God's work. And you deaden your capacity to recognize what is actually sent from the Lord. second story man I was quick chapter 6 chapter 6 of Mark we're just going to look at Mark Mark is many refer to it as the businessman's gospel the word immediately is in there frequently because he's constantly taking us from one story to the other there's no genealogies there's nothing to mess us up it's just bang bang bang So that's the way we're going to approach it today. We're just bang, bang. So you can look at this renewed mind. Chapter six, we're going to actually look at two stories in this chapter and make them one. We start in verse 30.

12:12 The apostles gathered to Jesus and told him all things, both what they had done and what they had taught. He said to them, come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest a while. For there were many coming and going. They did not even have time to eat. so they departed to a deserted place in a boat by themselves but the multitude saw them departing and many knew him and ran there on foot from all the cities and they arrived before them and came together to him jesus when he came out saw a great multitude was moved with compassion for them because they were like sheep not having a shepherd so he began to teach them many things When the day was now far spent, the disciples came to him and said, This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late. Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages, and buy themselves bread, for they have nothing to eat.

13:08 But he answered and said to them, You give them something to eat. I love this story for so many reasons, but he ends it with this statement, You give them something to eat. Most of you know the rest of the story. They get the child's lunch. He prays over it, blesses it, divides it up into 12 baskets, and they feed thousands of people with the boy's lunch.

13:30 But the renewed mind approaches this story a bit differently in this way. First of all, the disciples are approaching Jesus after having been sent out two by two in ministry to their hometowns. This is where they come back and they give a report. In verse 30, it says, this is an account of what they began to do and teach. So in other words, they are reporting back to the master. This is what we did. This is what we said. If you remember in Matthew 10, Jesus gave them instructions on what to announce. He literally said, when you go out, tell the people the kingdom of heaven is at hand and then heal the sick. So in other words, say this, then do this. So that's what they're reporting. They're reporting. This is what we did, Jesus. we said this, and just like you said, we were able to do this. And so they're giving a report. They're like kids coming back from having the most fun that they've ever had in their entire life, and they're before the master, and they're excited that demons listen to them. And this is the part where Jesus said in another book of the Bible, he's reporting on this situation. He said, don't rejoice that demons are subject to you. Celebrate the fact that your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

14:47 All he was doing there is Jesus is well known for a constantly adjusting perspective. Why? Because the renewed mind has a different perspective. The renewed mind can celebrate deliverance, but become aware of the fact that the real point of celebration is my name is in his book. So there are constant mid-course corrections throughout all of Jesus' instruction. This story is one of the great ones. I love how this unfolds because here's what happens. The disciples are with Jesus. They come back, give the reports. He sees they're exhausted. They're tired. They haven't had time to eat. So he says, come on, let's get into the boat. Let's go to a deserted place. The disciples are quite happy. Vacation with Jesus. So they start sailing to the other side of the sea, and maybe 100 yards, 200 yards away, they notice there's a crowd already on the shore, and they can see some of the same clothing, some of the same people. I'm reading into the story. You can just imagine the disciples are going, man, the bozos that were on that side of the lake are now on this side of the lake.

15:52 And Jesus is going to do that compassion thing. And sure enough, he gets to the shore. He's moved to compassion. They're like sheep without a shepherd. He gets out, start ministering to people. The disciples get involved because they know Jesus is always right. And they're cooperating. And then one of them has a brainstorm. And they come to Jesus, and I'm ad-libbing. They come to Jesus, and they say, Jesus, like you, we have tremendous burden and concern for these people. We picked this up from you. And some of us have been talking, and we're just deeply concerned for their well-being, and this is a deserted place, the hour is late. We just really have felt that we need to send them away so that they can go get some food. And Jesus goes, you feed them. And their scariest moment was when Jesus didn't laugh after he said it.

16:47 You can imagine they're waiting for that little grin and it never comes. And they realize they just got assigned to do the impossible. And the rest of the story, they get the boys' lunch, he splits it up into 12 baskets and they feed them all to do it. Extraordinary story. Let's read the rest of the story. Verse 45. Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side to Bethsaida. And he sent the multitude away. There's always a time to leave the crowd and to go to the Father. He sent the multitude away. When he sent them away, he departed to the mountain to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea. He was alone on the land. He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night, he came to them walking on the sea and would have passed them by. Let me just make a quick comment here.

17:40 He came to them on the sea and would have passed them by. I frequently notice in believers a self-pity attitude that we just really got to put to death. And that self-pity attitude is this. It's that, well, God knows I'm hungry, and he knows I'm open. And if it's his will for him to heal my body, or it's his will for him to bring our church revival, he knows we're open. No, sometimes he doesn't come to your boat. Sometimes he just walks close enough to scare you. honestly sometimes you have to persuade him to come you say well that's not that's not my loving father yeah it is that's him right there as he didn't intend to come in the boat why faith brings answers but enduring faith brings answers with character and there are some answers you and i can't be trusted with unless there's enduring faith that brings it about why because the character will sustain the answer for long periods of time. In other words, it won't come and then be discarded because of bad stewardship.

18:51 If you'd imagine pushing against a rock, it doesn't move, it doesn't move. What's happening? You're still building strength. You're still building a strength to contain greater answers, greater glory, if you will, that is released over our lives with greater breakthroughs. And the Lord is looking for a people that aren't crushed by his blessing. and so sometimes he walks close enough to your boat to scare you and to be quite honest there's a lot of people in sinking churches i mean boats and the only way that group of people will enter into revival is to be afraid of sinking because they don't know what's on the water they can't control it and they don't know what it is it looks different than what they expected but it is the same jesus All right, verse 49.

19:53 They saw him walking on the sea. They supposed it was a ghost and cried out. They all saw him. They were troubled. I love when the Bible says they were troubled. Interpreted meaning in the Greek language, it means they needed pampers. No, that's a stretch on my part. I'm sorry. I'm not sorry, but it is a stretch. I'm confessing. All right.

20:18 But immediately he talked with them and said, be of good cheer. It is I do not be afraid. That's interesting, isn't it? He didn't just say, don't be afraid. He said, be of good cheer. In other words, get happy. Then he went up into the boat to them. The wind ceased. They greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure and marveled. Here's our key verse. Verse 52, for they had not understood about the loaves because the heart was still hard. Here's the point. They had a loaves and fishes experience in which God revealed the nature of his kingdom to them, and they didn't get it. Because they didn't get it, they couldn't draw from this renewed mind understanding of the kingdom to deal with the storm that they were facing on the boat. they didn't get it what did they miss what did they miss they're they're they're they're they've got a multitude before them jesus says you feed them they didn't get the fact that the food didn't multiply at jesus's hands it multiplied at theirs jesus didn't take the boy's lunch throw it in the air and go shazam and create a big pile of food that's not a smart thing to do with a hungry crowd instead he divided it into 12 they handed it out it multiplied as they handed it out so what did they miss they missed the fact that when jesus said you feed them he never changed his mind when he said you feed them and they had that dumb look on their face like huh there's no stores we have no money what did he do he instructed them how to do what he just commanded them to do. So what is the point? The renewed mind lives with an awareness that God enables what he commands.

22:10 He really meant it when he said it's co-missioning. In other words, I will work with you to make what's impossible possible. How would that help them in the storm? Because Jesus puts them in a boat that he's not going to be in. See, they think if Jesus isn't in the boat, they're going to die. they think if Jesus isn't in the boat, if Jesus isn't there to fight their fights for them, they're not going to make it. But what Jesus tried to reveal in the previous miracle was, when I say you feed them, I released you the ability to feed them. That was in the experience. All right? But hardness of heart. Now, here's the funny thing.

23:02 Funny, I don't know if funny is the right word. But here's the strange thing, is that you and I evaluating their situation in the Loaves and Fishes miracle. If we were to evaluate everything they did, they would come out really good because they obeyed perfectly. They did everything Jesus said to do. They gave him all the credit. They didn't take any of the glory for themselves. As far as we could see, on the outside, they obeyed perfectly. Good job. But according to the next problem they had, we see that they didn't get the spiritual nutrients from the last experience to equip them for the next problem.

23:42 Right? every miracle, this entire supernatural lifestyle is constantly filled with the nutrients needed for the next situation. And when there's hardness in our heart, we can see a miracle, participate in a miracle, give him all the credit for the miracle, lay hands like he told us to do, say what we were supposed to say, and yet the next time we face a problem, not know what to do because we really didn't get the revelation of how his kingdom works. And the renewed mind learns to perceive the nature and workings of this king and his great kingdom. for they had not understood about the loaves.

24:41 Chapter 8. Chapter 8 is the chapter that the Lord used to really ignite my heart on this subject quite a few years ago. And I had this strange experience. It seemed like every time I opened my Bible for maybe six months, eight, ten months, it seemed like every time I opened my Bible, it would fall open to Mark 8. And it wasn't because there was a crease in the Bible or a marker in there. It just would open. And after, honestly, after this happened, maybe a dozen times or so, I thought, maybe I should read it.

25:17 And so I just started reading it, rereading it, rereading it, rereading it. And I realized that the Lord is really trying to deal with something in me that I have since worked to pass on to you. That he is trying to bring about the transformation of our thinking. Faith does not come from the mind. So it's not the source of faith. God's the source of faith, but it's imparted to our hearts. With the heart man believes under righteousness, not the mind. But the renewed mind is this miraculous joining of intellect and spirit.

25:51 The renewed mind is like it enhances faith. It's almost like the renewed mind provides the banks for the river of faith to flow in. gives it a context because it lives and works with the conviction of the nature of God and his world. Mark 8, verse 13. He left them getting into the boat again. By the way, they just fed 5,000 people this time. So this is the second time in a few chapters that they've multiplied food. All right. So that's the context. He left them getting into the boat again, departed to the other side. Now the disciples had forgotten to take bread. They did not have more than one loaf with them in the boat. Then he charged them saying, take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod. They reasoned among themselves saying, it's because we have no bread. But Jesus being aware of it said, why do you reason because you have no bread?

26:53 Do you not yet perceive nor understand? Is your heart still hardened? Having eyes, do you not see? Having ears, do you not hear? And do you not remember? When I broke the five loaves, I mean, know when God's asking you a question, it's not because he's lacking information. He's giving you the privilege to paint yourself into a corner where his logic and reason is the only thing worthwhile. All right. So he's doing us a favor. So he asked them a question. When I broke five loaves for the 5,000, how many baskets full of fragments did you take up? They said 12. Also, when I broke the seven for the 4,000, how many large baskets full of fragments did you take They said seven. He said to them, how is it you don't understand? This is a hilarious story to me because he warns them about leaven. Leaven is literally the influence on the mind.

27:49 Herod, Pharisees. Herod, political system. Doesn't mind you believing in God, just don't bring him into the equation. It's very humanistic in nature. Herod, Pharisees. Pharisees, the religious system. God is at the center of everything, but he's impersonal and powerless. So Jesus says, be careful of these two ways of thinking. what did the disciples just experience? The multiplying of food for the second time. That makes their response very funny. Jesus says, beware of the leaven of Herod and the leaven of the Pharisees. And the disciples go,

28:29 did you bring the bread? you know you just see Peter turning to John you bring the bread I didn't bring the bread ask Judas he has the money they're looking around they can't find any bread and it's like Jesus says I wasn't talking about bread but let's pretend I was do you remember when we fed the 5,000 so he completely changes subjects because they just dug themselves into a fear hole because they don't have food. and so he starts asking him questions so when we fed the 5,000 started with 5 loaves how many baskets left? 12 when we fed the 4,000 we started with 7 loaves how many baskets did we have left? 7 this is divine math we fed more people and had more leftovers when we started with less food Thank you.

29:24 When we started with seven loaves, we fed a smaller crowd, and we had less leftovers. Do you see what he's doing? He's trying to shake them loose from the logic and reason that is tied to earthly resources. Because one of the things that the Lord is revealing to his children, those who discover who he is and who they are, He's discovering, he's revealing not only do we have identity, not only do we have purpose, not only do we have destiny, but we live with access to unlimited resources. I don't mean for building personal empires and kingdoms. I'm talking about everything that is needed to accomplish what he assigned us to do. And children understand the greatness of their father's resources.

30:21 I love this story a lot. I return to actually one verse in this story fairly often for myself to meditate to pray over it and it's the verse where Jesus asked them a question why do you reason that you have no bread? Once we have experienced supernatural provision, we have lost the right to start any thought process with what we don't have. Once we have experienced supernatural supply, supernatural provision, we have lost the right to start any thought process with what we don't have.

31:20 I'm not saying live in denial. I'm just saying that is not the basis for your thinking. Faith doesn't deny a problem's existence. It denies a problem a place of influence. Faith does not deny a problem's existence. It denies it a place of influence. Why do you reason that you have no bread? Do you not yet understand? Don't you perceive? Is your heart still hardened? When I find myself going into fear mode, anxiety mode, stress mode, worry mode, it's always because I started at the wrong place.

32:14 I started with my limited resources and started with his nature and his promises. the problem doesn't get fixed because you just look at it and say oh yeah i should have started something no you got to go back you got to go back you got to confront the lie start with truth and build from there Thank you. Amen. Chapter 9 will be our last story. verse 1 and he said to them assuredly I say to you there are some standing here who will not taste death till they see the kingdom of God present with power after six days Jesus took Peter, James and John led them up on a high mountain apart by themselves and he was transfigured before them his clothes became shining exceedingly white like snow such as no launderer on earth can whiten him and Elijah appeared to them with Moses and they were talking with Jesus This is the story of the transfiguration of Jesus, referred to in Scripture as the Mount Transfiguration.

33:54 The reason I'm using this story is because this word, transfigured or transfiguration, is actually the same word as is renewed mind. Thank you. the renewed mind, the transformed mind, the transfigured mind, and the transfigured Jesus. I would like to suggest to you that this that they saw on the mountain with Jesus, the shining clothes, the face that became brilliant, this transfiguring that took place over him, It was a physical illustration of what the renewed mind looks like in the spiritual. This story is remarkable for so many reasons. One is this story of the Mount of Transfiguration is mentioned in the Synoptic Gospels, which are Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

35:01 And in these three stories, each time before the story starts, there is a statement made at the beginning. And the statement made is, there are some of you standing here who will not taste death until you see the kingdom come with power. Six days later, the Mount of Transfiguration.

35:26 I would like to suggest two things to you. Number one, that the Mount of Transfiguration is a very necessary, carries a very necessary revelation to that statement, the kingdom come with power. But that also, the Mount of Transfiguration was not the fulfillment of that prophecy. All right. It would be like this. Jesus standing before a crowd saying, there are some of you standing here who will still be alive in six days. that's kind of a pointless prophecy. That can't be the intent that he had in making this decree over this multitude. There are some of you standing here who will actually be alive in six days. That wasn't the point. The point was, there are some of you standing here that will see the kingdom come with power, but in each occasion, the situation that followed that pronouncement was the Mount of Transfiguration.

36:22 What's the point? There are ingredients in this story that helped to clarify what actually happened when the kingdom came with power. When did the kingdom come with power? I believe what he was referring to was the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts chapter 2 for a lot of reasons. Because that's when the power of God was released to the people of God and the kingdom was contained in the Spirit and it was the Spirit that possessed and filled these believers. I'm going to leave that subject. You can study it on your own. Perhaps we'll do it at another time. but the point I'm trying to make is that this passage some of you standing here not taste death until you see the kingdom come with power and then to have this amazing experience on the Mount of Transfiguration there is a connection between that experience of Transfiguration and the day of Pentecost I don't know if you realize this, but it would be normal for believers to think God's ultimate goal for our life is for us to be saved.

37:28 Well, I mean, that's a pretty glorious goal. But I would like to suggest to you that your conversion qualified you for his ultimate goal. In other words, the initial target prepared you for the ultimate target. I used to bowl as a kid. I haven't bowled in years, and I plan to never bowl again in my life, only because I stink at it. But anyway, I could do it with my grandkids, I suppose. That would be fun. But I know that a good bowler knows how the ball rolls, and there's markers in the lane, and they know to aim at an initial target so that they can hit the ultimate target. The initial target of the Lord Jesus for you was your conversion. The ultimate target was for you to be filled with God's fullness. The fullness of God would fill you completely. The ultimate target, the immediate target. I'd like to suggest that Mount of Transfiguration merely illustrated what happened to one person, Jesus, the Son of God.

38:30 What happened to him was to become the prototype for every believer. That sounds very impractical, but I think when you realize that that's what the transformed mind looks like in the spiritual realm, then it gives us something to aim towards. One of the most bizarre truths in Scripture for me is to see that John the Beloved, The disciple that Jesus had such a tenderness for, and he had such a tenderness for him, unusually so. We see him at the Last Supper. We see Jesus announcing that one of the twelve is going to betray him. None of them know who it is, so there was nothing in the behavior that would reveal to any of the disciples who it was. We see John leaning his head against Jesus' chest. We see that friendship, that incredible closeness.

39:26 And that John could describe to you in detail what Jesus was like. And yet that John, in Revelation chapter 1, saw Jesus again. This time he saw him with eyes of fire, hair white like wool, feet like burnished bronze. he looked completely different than the Lamb of God at the supper.

39:59 This time he was looking at Jesus who was resurrected, ascended, and glorified at the right hand of the Father. That John wrote in 1 John 4, verse 17, as he is so are we in this world You see, the Mount of Transfiguration is a prophetic picture of a generation that sees the kingdom come with power. Luke's gospel adds some spice to this transfiguration story. Luke's gospel says, and Jesus, his appearance became altered. The word there is other.

40:53 He became other. in other words, the disciples who knew him well, knew exactly what he looked like, all of a sudden, they didn't know what he looked like anymore because he was different. But they saw it happen to him, so they knew it was him. And his clothing, in Mark's gospel says, became shining. And the use of that word back in its day is it was a supernatural shining. But Luke found a different word that I like even better in Luke 9. He says, and his clothing became glistening. But the word glistening is a word that means like lightning flashes. So imagine you're Peter, James, and John. You're a little sleepy. Jesus prays long prayer meetings. You've been there forever. It's the middle of the night. It's dark. It's starting to fade just a little bit. And all of a sudden, you Jesus' clothes turn to lightning.

41:53 That might spark up any dull prayer meeting. Jesus' appearance becomes other. He changes right in front of you. And then Moses and Elijah show up. That just would pretty much liven up any prayer meeting I've been in. And that environment is somehow prophetically displaying, illustrating the kingdom come with power. I'd like to suggest to you that the renewed mind, as God transforms how you and I think about reality, how we learn to draw from unlimited resources to alter and to change the nature of the world around us, that there is something happening in the unseen world. And while you and I may not see it, he is actually declaring this over us, that as he is, he is impacting us so profoundly that we are like him there.

42:48 we are like him here. That glorified, resurrected Jesus that is victorious over everything that would be an element to humanity, you have that DNA in you to defeat and conquer any of those things that would come your way and literally carrying the appearance of this Christ. I believe the renewed mind, this is divine knowledge, renewed mind changes our countenance, changes our outlook, changes our availability to his purposes, his will. It works so deeply in us at targeting who we are in him. there's two things that are going to happen when you get to heaven. There's a bunch of things, but there are two things uniquely that I think will have tremendous impact.

43:46 One is you will see the devil, and the Bible describes what will happen. You will look at him, and you will say, It was you? you'll be shocked at the puniness of the one that had you so distracted.

44:12 And number two, I don't think any of us will be enraptured with each other. The worship goes to Jesus. However, I think there's going to be a great awakening to discover how significant our conversion was. It's transforming our impact on the nature of the world around us. So the renewed mind... lives with an awareness that God sometimes wants to do things through us, not for us. The renewed mind lives with an awareness. that your internal victory becomes a public victory for everyone around you. the renewed mind lives with the awareness that when he changes your thinking on the inside, it is recognizable on the outside by every spiritual realm that exists.

45:31 I remind you of Ephesians chapter 3. He said that God would display his wisdom through the church to the principalities and powers that exist in heavenly places. What is happening as the mind of Christ, the renewed mind, takes root and becomes illustrated? You guys were the ones that began to teach me how this works. I remember years ago, years ago, somebody came that was dying of cancer. First time I'd ever seen this in my life. Somebody came dying with cancer, and three or four of you came to me in the space of about a half hour, excited that somebody was here that was dying. Typically, the religious response us to be downcast and, oh, brother, do you know what's happening? And instead it was different. It was like, there's somebody here that's dying. Can you believe that? That's awesome. It wasn't disrespect. It wasn't disregard. It was they came to the right place because Jesus knows no impossibility. And in fact, that individual was healed on the spot. All the tumors dissolve, disappeared, no cancer left. So the point being is this renewed mind, this renewed mind enables us to live with a realization that my history in God becomes the lenses through which I see my present situation. See, this renewed mind changes everything about our, my approach to life.

46:57 Why don't you stand? We'll pray. If the Lord set you into a real troubled, dark situation, Dangerous. many of us in the room would be quite nervous going into that dark situation. What if right before you went in there, you saw two 12-foot angels standing at each of your side? Would that adjust the attitude of speck as you went into that dangerous location? That is a silly illustration, perhaps, but the renewed mind lives with an awareness of unseen realities, and it changes the approach, the confidence, the clarity of thinking.

47:59 How many of you have discovered that when you're fearful and anxious, your thoughts are not clear? And the Lord is not opposed to the mind. He just wants it renewed. He's not opposed to the mind. He's just opposed to the unrenewed mind. the bible declares that the unrenewed mind is hostile towards god so the way I figure it, we all need help so my favorite prayer ever is help me help me Jesus Lord I do pray for that, I pray for great grace today in this this subject that you've taken us back to so often, I pray that today it would release such a grace for the renewed mind even more so Lord I pray for a real spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of you the one who is ascended and glorified that we somehow could discover the incredible privilege of revealing the glorified Jesus to this world.

49:16 Thanks, Lord. You know, so many believers work to represent the Jesus headed to the cross to the world and not the one that's resurrected, ascended, and glorified. and the cross is essential for everything in life, but the life of the believer is actually the life of resurrection. And now, according to today, it's also the life of transfiguration. It's the life of the renewed mind, transforming the environments we've been assigned to. So Lord, I pray that there would be great courage and faith for this privileged assignment.