Dharius Daniels - A Mind for More

Paul speaks here about the importance of transformation, and we have to partner with the Holy Spirit in renewing our minds. This is not about works; it is an expression of faith. Dallas Willard puts it this way: he says grace is opposed to earning, not effort. Grace means that we don’t earn, but grace doesn’t mean that we don’t put forth an effort. As a matter of fact, putting forth the effort is an expression of faith. Are you hearing me? Yeah, it’s not grace; it’s not works; it’s faith. Putting forth the effort is an indication that I believe God is getting ready to do something. Come on! Putting forth the effort is a revelation that I am confident that if I do my part, God’s going to do His. Come on! Putting forth the effort is an indication that I believe that if I draw close to God, God’s going to draw close to me. Listen to this! So then, if we want to experience minor and major transformation, we must co-labor and partner with the Holy Spirit in doing so. This means there is some prep work that we must engage in so that the Holy Spirit can do His work. We must position our minds to be renewed. Only the Holy Spirit can renew or renovate and rebuild my mind, but I must position my mind to be renewed. How do I do that? I do that in three ways. Number one, it means I must decide to have an open mind. I must decide to have an open mind. God can’t teach us anything if we already know everything. I’m going to say that again: God can’t teach us anything if we think we already know everything. You can’t walk through open doors with closed minds. Your mind has to open before the door does. And if God is stretching your mind, come on, maybe it’s an indication He’s getting ready to open the door. I’m going to say that again—if God is stretching your mind, maybe it’s an indication that He’s getting ready to open the door. Your mind has to open before a door does. This means we must be open to allow God to renovate and renew our minds. Renovation sometimes gets messy, right? Renovation is actually messier than construction because there are walls that must be torn down. Remodeling—God wants to remodel our minds, and we must be open to the remodeling because even Jesus refuses to help people who won’t open their minds to His help. In John 5, He asks the man who had been at the Pool of Bethesda for 38 years, «Do you want to be made well?» We must have an open mind. In John 9, we see an amazing example of this. In this verse, Jesus engages in performing a miracle for a man who cannot see. In John 9:6, it says, «After saying this, Jesus spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, put it on the man’s eyes, and told him, 'Go wash in the Pool of Siloam.'» The word means «sent,» so the man went, washed, and came home seeing. This is what happens: he can’t see, and Jesus spits in the dirt, makes mud, puts it on the guy’s eyes, and then tells the man to go home so he can wash it off. I have so many questions about that, but this is the thing: the man would have missed the miracle. He would have kept his eyes closed if he hadn’t had an open mind. If he had had a closed mind, he would have said, «Okay, wait a minute, what are you doing with that dirt you’re spitting in? Time out! Does that make sense?» But he allowed Jesus to literally spit in the dirt, make mud, and put it on his eyes. His eyes were opened because his mind was. Alright, we need an open mind. Number two, we need an honest mind. We can’t get to where we’re going if we aren’t honest about where we are. I can’t get to where I’m going if I’m not honest about where I am. The truth sets us free, and if truth sets us free, then deception keeps us bound. I have to have an honest mind. Honest faith does not deny reality; faith changes it. Faith does not deny the existence of giants in the promised land; faith believes my God is bigger. Faith does not deny the reality that a door is closed, but faith believes that God has the key to unlock every door. When He gets ready to open the door for me, it doesn’t matter who’s on the other side attempting to hold it shut. God will open doors that no man can shut and close doors that no one can open. Come on, family! An honest mind can’t get help if we aren’t honest. Number three, we must have a hopeful mind. A hopeful mind. Jurgen Moltmann says this: the sin of unbelief is manifested in hopelessness. The sin of unbelief is manifested in hopelessness. He also says that hopelessness is the premature anticipation of the non-fulfillment of the promises of God. Premature hopelessness anticipates that God will not fulfill His promises. The key word there is «premature,» because wherever there is hopelessness, it means that somebody has stopped believing too soon. God is a finisher, and if it isn’t finished, God isn’t done. Whenever God is done, it’s going to be finished. So if it’s not done yet, we should not despair.