[Turn to] Romans chapter 12 in your Bibles. One morning, a man by the name of Alfred Nobel, was reading his newspaper. To his surprise, he found that his name was there in the obituary column of the newspaper. As you could well imagine, it was probably a little bit disconcerting to realize the world has viewed you as dead and you were very much alive. As he began to read his own obituary, he was shocked to discover that he would be remembered as the man that gave the world its most destructive weapon, dynamite; something that killed - even at that point in history - literally thousands and thousands of people. So, he was horrified to think, above all his other accomplishments in life, that he would be known as the man that gave the world its most destructive weapon, resulting in the lives of thousands of people dying - dynamite. So, right there, this man, Alfred Nobel decided that he would not be known as a man who gave the world its most destructive weapon, but he would be known as a man that gave the world peace. Very few people know Alfred Nobel as being the inventor of dynamite, but everybody knows him as being the creator of the Nobel Peace Prize. You see, he made a choice that “I am going to change.”

Like Alfred Nobel, all of us have areas of our life that we would like to see changed. I'm sure that's true of you. I'm sure for us, there are things that we would like to start doing. If there were, there are things in our life that we would like to stop doing. Maybe today, you'd like to start that diet and stop saying, “Tomorrow, I'm going on a diet.” Or maybe, you'd like to stop talking about going on that dream vacation and just simply do it. In fact, maybe your wife is nudging you right now and saying, “Yes, listen to that. Stop talking about it, and let's just do it.” By the way, after church camp would be a good time just to do it, right? Or maybe you'd like to start spending more time with your family and stop being buried under a barrage of work. Or maybe you just like to stop worrying about things and start trusting God for things. Or maybe you'd like to start saving more money for valuable things and stop spending your money on so many worthless things. Or maybe you’d just like to stop losing your temper and start controlling your temper.

But if you're like me, change doesn't come easy. Are you with me tonight? Change doesn't come easy. I don't know about you. It's not easy to change. It's not easy to change a bad habit. It's not easy to change an established pattern of living. It is not easy to start something and yet at the same time, stop something. Change doesn't come easy. It doesn't come easy for me. And I'm certain it doesn't come easy for you.

The Well-Established Hairdo

Several years ago, my wife and others, in fact, for about the last 10 years, have been telling me that I needed to make a change in my life. They did. They were telling me, for 10 years, they've been telling me that I needed to change my hairstyle. That is true. In fact, my wife reminds me that my hairstyle has not changed since we were married in 1982. I want you to know something, if you see my wedding pictures, that's absolutely truthful. And one day, I realized that my wife was right that I needed to make a change in my hairstyle. I was visiting families that I had not seen in about 20 years. And as I was visiting my relatives, every one of them without exception said to me, “You remind me so much of your father.” I thought to myself, “My 85-year old father?!” They said, “Yeah, you remind us so much of your dad.” I said to them he will be flattered because everybody wants to resemble their dad. So, I said, “Wow, what is it about me that resembles my dad?” And they said, “Your hairstyle. It is just like your 85 -year old father.”

So, I realized at that moment, I needed to make a change. So, heeding my wife's advice, I decided I needed to find a role model, right? I mean, I don't really think about hair so I found how to find someone who looks like me, my same height, my same build, my same age, and I found the perfect role: A man by the name of Daniel Craig. Do you know the name? I mean, we won't go that way but I was looking at that and I said, “Hey, you know what? I kind of look like him. He kind of looks like me.” At least I think so! You know, and I thought at least he's the same age, the same build, you know, blond hair, blue eyes, all that stuff. I said he's a great role model and he had played in the movie in those days, “Casino Royale”. Do you guys remember that movie? You know, James Bond 007! I thought, “Wow! What a great role model for me, you know?” So, in that movie, he was sporting this absolutely beautiful, [without side-parting] haircut. So, I went in Singapore, I went to the hair salon, which I've never done in my life. But I went there once and I said, “Give me a Daniel Craig - James Bond 007 [without side parting] haircut.” Showed the picture. You know? “Okay, we can do that.”  So, they gave me what I thought was a very cool James Bond 007 “knock-em-dead” [without side parting] haircut.

And I really liked it until I went to church on Sunday morning – GLCC Sunday morning. This was when we were in the [Singapore Chinese Girls School] down there. I remember I walked into church. And since Dr. Choo is not here today, I'll use him [as an example]. And I saw Dr. Choo. And he looked at me, he said, “Mike?! What happened to you?! You look just like Julius Caesar!” I had another lady come up to me after the service. I mean, she was horrified. She said, “Are you okay? Are you having a midlife crisis?” I had another lady come up to me. And she said, “I couldn't listen to a word you said! Your hairstyle makes me wonder ‘Are you spiritually struggling?’” So, I realized looking like my 85-year old father was not a bad thing. So, here I am. Back in the same old way, you see, because change doesn't come easy. It is not easy to change a well-established hairdo! In fact, I tell people, I don't have to get up and comb my hair in the morning. I mean, it's been like this for so long. I just get up and [the hair] just knows exactly what to do! I just say “It's time to go” and BOOM and [my hair] just obeys. And I'm gone! I mean, but it's hard to change. You know, it's hard for you to change, it's hard for me to change. It is not easy, you know, to break a stubborn habit. It is not easy to break an established pattern of life. It is not easy to start doing certain things and stop doing other things. Change doesn't come easy.

Struggling with Stubborn Thoughts or Disposition

Have you ever been overcome with worry and you get upon your knees and you say, “Lord, please take away my worry.” And all of a sudden, the worry seems to lift. [But] about a few minutes later, all of a sudden, it's weighing down your shoulders again. You ever been there? Have you ever come to God and said, “God, would you would you please take away my temper?” And all of a sudden, within a few moments, you're blowing your top again. [Have] you ever come to God and say, you know, “Lord, would you please take away this lust? Would you please get this woman out of my mind?” You have been reckoning yourself to be dead indeed into sin, but you just can't seem to get that woman out of your mind. Man, [have] you ever been there? In fact, maybe you've come to God even like this morning and you've surrendered to the Lord. But within a few days, you're back to the same old habits. You see? It is not easy to change.

When a believer cannot find consistent change in their life; when they don't see, you know, any kind of victory in their Christian life; when they can't seem to break that stubborn habit; here's what happens: Oftentimes, it drives us to the point where we begin to question the reality of our faith. In fact, sometimes when we just can't seem to break that stubborn habit, when we can't seem to break that established pattern of life, when we just can't seem to change when we know we ought to - as believers - we begin to question our faith. We actually ask ourselves, “Am I saved? Is Christianity real?” Maybe we don't go so far. But maybe we reason and we rationalize this way. We say, “Well, you know, I know that God loves me. But maybe God's not powerful enough to change me.” Or maybe we say, “Well, I know God's powerful to change me. But maybe He doesn't love me enough to do so.” But friends, I want you to know something tonight:

I want you to know that God does love you and He does have the power to change your life. That's what our passage tonight - in Romans 12:2 - is all about. It literally tells us how it is that you and I can change. How can we break that stubborn habit? How can we change that established pattern of living? How can we stop doing certain things and start successfully doing other things? Well, Paul put it this way. In our passage here in Romans 12, in verse 2, listen to what he says. He says: “And be not conformed to this world,” he says, “but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” A wonderful passage of scripture.

Now the word “transformed” here is a beautiful word. It's that word “metamorphosis” and we know what that is, right? It refers to an inward change that manifests itself on the outside. It gives us a picture of an ugly, old caterpillar, you know, that climbs up in a tree and there, nature wraps that caterpillar in its fiber robe and [it] undergoes a process of metamorphosis and [it] undergoes a process of change. Before long, that ugly, old caterpillar emerges as a beautiful butterfly. It is literally changed. Transformed. It has metamorphosized. But you see, that's exactly what God wants to do with us. God wants to transform us, God wants to change us. You see, God wants to change us. He wants us to be able to successfully let go of that bad habit and to change that established pattern of living. You see, God wants our lives ultimately to reflect and to radiate the Person of Jesus Christ. God wants to change you. God wants to change us. God wants our life to be a process, a continual process of change. So, when Jesus comes again, we are translated into the glory.

Renewing the Mind – Key to Transformation

Hey, listen: Our lives begin to reflect the Person of Jesus Christ - which then brings us to a question, all right? If God wants us to change, how can we change? How does that change come about? Well, notice what Paul says: He wants to transform us. He wants to take this ugly, old worm of a body and make us as beautiful as a glorious monarch butterfly. Well, how does He do it? He transforms us. Now notice that phrase, “by the renewing of your mind.” He changes us by “renewing the mind.” Now notice this, as we renew the mind, the life is changed. Change begins where? Not in the life. Change begins in the mind. You see, as we change our thinking, our actions change; we are transformed as we change our thinking. So, if you want to change, if you want to break that stubborn habit, if you want to change that established pattern of life, if you want to stop doing certain things and start doing other things, then God says [the change] begins by renewing your mind.

Meditation leads to Action

You see, as we renew the mind, the life will change. Now, I'm certain all of us know this truth. All of us know that what you think [of] will eventually determine what you do. I hope we all understand that, right? As that old French philosopher, Rene Descartes once said: “As I think or I think therefore I [am].” Thank you. Somebody knows that, right? All right. He said it wisely. You know, I think therefore I am. But you see, more importantly, it was Solomon who thousands of years ago made this great statement in Proverbs 23. In verse 7, he says: “For a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” By the way, in the Old Testament, when that word “heart” occurs, it always refers to the mind. There's no distinction in the Old Testament: Heart and mind. Heart and mind. Heart and mind. The heart is the mind. The mind is the heart. So, he's just talking about that, that area where man thinks and reasons. So, he says: As a man thinks in his heart, or as a man thinks, so is he.

What's he reminding us of? He's simply reminding us that we are what we think. What we think will determine what we do. You see, we are what we think. Our actions always flow from our mind. They always flow from our mind. I read a review, not long ago, that kind of illustrates this. From “The Parents Television Council”. The Parents Television Council did a study on how our viewing habits - watching movies, television, and computer games - affect our actions because there're a lot of people today that say, “You know, what you watch doesn't affect what you do.” Well, they did 1000 separate studies, and they concluded with this: That all but 18 of those 1000 separate studies concluded that screen sex leads to real sex, and screen violence always leads to real violence. What are they saying? They're simply reminding us of what Solomon said thousands of years ago: As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he. Our actions always flow from our thinking.

In fact, we know this old little ditty, don't we?

Sow a thought and you reap an act.

Sow an act and you reap a habit.

Sow a habit and you reap a character.

Sow a character, you'll [always] reap a destiny.

That's important. In fact, the fact that we are what we think is clearly illustrated in the life of one of the most infamous criminals of the 20th century, a man by the name of Ted Bundy. Those of us who are a bit older, all right, and have well-established hairdos would remember this name: Ted Bundy. You remember [in] 1989, he was convicted of being a serial-killer where he not only sexually abused but murdered some 37 women throughout the United States. In 1989, after he was caught, he was sentenced to death in a Florida federal prison. But before he was executed, he asked to see the Christian psychologist, a man by the name of James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family. And in the interview, here's what Ted Bundy said. I just think it's quite interesting for us tonight - he said this and I quote: Bundy stated that his murderous rampage (remember he killed 37 women and sexually abused each and every one of them), he said his murderous rampage was fueled by an addiction to violent pornography. He explained how filling his mind with obscene material eventually made him want to act out what he had read or seen. His interest in soft pornography gradually led to a fascination with more graphic pornography. Finally he concludes his thoughts incited him to murder. What is he saying? He's simply reminding us of what Solomon said thousands of years ago. You see, from our thought-life flows our actions. Input always determines output.

Spiritual Attack Begins in the Mind with Enticing Lies for Us to Embrace

And here's why this is important because the devil knows that. The devil knows that without a doubt. The devil knows that our input always determines our output because his primary area of attack in your life is and always be your mind. Do you remember when the devil wanted to bring down the human race? What did he do? He attacked Eve. Remember? But where did he attack Eve? The Bible tells us that he attacked Eve in the subtlety of her mind - the devil attacked Eve in her mind. Well, what did he do? How did this attack take place? He placed within her mind a lie. And she embraced that lie. And in the mind came forth an action, and the entire human race came down. You see, the devil understands. That's why his primary area of attack is in the mind.

And you realize the only power Satan has over you is his lies. Did you hear me? Satan has not the power to cause you to believe anything or to do anything. The only power Satan has over you is lies - by placing lies in the mind. And [the devil] knows that if he can place a lie in your mind and you embrace it, then he can affect your actions. And your action will be truthful, they'll be sinful, and they lead you down a hurtful path. You see, think about it this way: Every battle that we fight is first a battle of the mind. And if we fight the battle in the mind, and we lose it, we will again fight the battle in the life. Friends, we are in a battle. And the battle begins in the mind. The devil knows that. In fact, I think that's why Paul probably made this statement. Paul understands it. Notice what he says [in 2 Corinthians 10:5]. Paul says we are to cast down arguments, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. We need to bring - in other words, we got to be careful about the lies that we embrace in the mind - and so we need to bring our thoughts into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

How the Devil Controls Our Life & Actions? By Infiltrating the Mind with Lies

Why? Because the devil knows, you see, if he can place a lie in the mind then he can control the life. And you see if we lose the battle in the mind, [we] will eventually fight it in the life. And I want you to know something: If you lose [the battle] in the mind, and you're trying to fight it in the life, you're generally going to lose it. That's why we struggle. It is a battle of the mind. It's a battle of the mind. You're in a battle, and the devil works as he did on Eve in the subtlety of your mind. That's what he does. And so, it brings us to this question.

All right, how can we win that battle? We need to, as Paul said, we need to learn to renew the mind. We need to learn to renew the mind. Remember what he said, we are transformed by the renewing of the mind. Your victory in the Christian life; your success in the Christian life; your ability to break a bad habit and to break an established pattern of living; your ability to start doing certain things and to stop doing others begins by you winning the battle of the mind. And that begins by you renewing the mind. So, it brings us to a question. All right? What does it mean then when Paul said in Romans 12:2 that we were to renew the mind? What does it mean? Because I just want to stop here and make sure you're with me. All right? You understand that transformation of life first begins by renewing the mind. So, before we can even think about the life, we need to think about the mind because “input always determines output”. So, we need to renew the mind. So, what does it mean when Paul said: Renew the mind? Here's a very simple thought.

The Principle of Replacement

It means that it's a process where we remove the lies that Satan has put there with the truth of God's Word. All right? So, renewing the mind is removing lies, and replacing those lies with truth. Because all of us and I'll show you in a moment, we embrace lies. And when we embrace the lie, it affects the life. All right? So, we need to remove lies and replace those lies with truth. I want to call this for us tonight: “The Principle of Replacement”. All right. It's called “The Principle of Replacement”. So, I'm going to teach you tonight “The Principle of Replacement”. Okay. So how do you break a stubborn habit? How do you overcome, you know, worry? How do you overcome fear? How do you overcome lust? How do you overcome? Replacement. It is not simply by rejecting [the devil’s lies]. It's not by renouncing it. It's by replacing it. Are you with me? It's not simply a renouncing: “Lord, I'm covetous. Lord, I'm lustful.” That's not going to help you. You’ve got to replace that lie, and you need to replace that lie with Truth.

Now, let me just show you what I mean. All right. So, the battle is the battle of the mind. And so, if we're going to change your life, we need to change the mind. So, how do we change the mind? We replace lies with truth. All right, so, you've removed the lie, and you embrace the truth, then God will begin to change your life. So, how do you purge from the mind fear and worry, and lust and covetous [thoughts]? You need to replace it with Truth. You just can't wish it away. You can't think it away. You can't just renounce it away. Let me give you an example. All right? Let's do something group-like tonight, okay, I know, this is totally not my style. My style is I speak you listen. When I'm done, you can go home, right? My style! I'm just kidding. But let's do something kind of interactive tonight. Okay. ‘The Principle of Replacement”.

Simple Demonstration of The Principle of Replacement

I want you to think for a moment of the number eight. All right, the number eight, get my fingers correct. The number eight. All right, got the number eight in your mind? All right, the number what? Eight. All right. So, here's what I want you to do. Now that you have the number eight in your mind, I want you to remove from your mind that number eight. I mean, exercise your will-power and push the number eight out of your mind. Right? Ready, set, push! Okay, renounce. Get rid of the number eight. Did you do it? Probably not. Because what number are you're still thinking about? (Eight – congregation responds) Then you didn't get it out of your mind! Okay? Because frankly, you know, we just can't renounce it. We just can't push the number eight out of the mind. All right, we just can't say, “Number eight, go!”. You know, by the way, when we try to focus on pushing it out of the mind, what are we doing? We're actually focusing on the number itself, right? In a sense, that's kind of what we do with sin. That's kind of what we do with God, you know, we get upon our knees and you know, we're heartbroken by our lust or worry or in our fear, and we say, “Oh, Lord! Just help me not to be fearful anymore! Lord, I hate this fear. Lord, why am I always like this? I'm always worrying. I'm always fearful. Can You just take it from me?” And we're always talking to God about our fear. And does that help us overcome our fear? No, in fact, the more we dwell on it, likely the more fearful or more worried or the more covetous we become, because it's not just renouncing it. All right? So, it’s not just trying to squeeze it out of our mind with some mental gymnastics. We need to replace it.

So, let's remove the number eight from your mind. Okay, can I do that? Now, this is not going to be magic. All right, but here it is. All right. I'll give you another number. Think of the number 1000. You got the number 1000? In your mind? What number is it? 1000. Now divide 1000 by five 1000 divided by five. For all you math geniuses, 1000 divided by five is 200. All right, so 1000 divided by five is what? It's 200. So, what number do you have in your mind right now? 200. Do you realize as you begin to focus your attention on that number 200, you begin to forget about that previous number. By the way, what was that previous number? No, it was a number, what? Eight. That's the principle of replacement. All right? And you see, change comes when we replace the lies that we believe, with the truth of God's Word. It's not simply renouncing worry, and fear and covetousness. It's simply replacing it. So let me give you an example of what I mean. Sometimes we believe the lie: I can't change. I could never change I'm old already. Or, you know, this will never work on me or I've always been this way. And I'll always be this way. And by the way, as long as you believe that lie, you know, it's going to happen: You will never change. Yes. You will always stay that way. So, in order to change the life, you need to change the thinking. You’ve got to remove that lie with truth. So, the lie is: I cannot change. All right. I'm always this way. I've always been this way. This is the way I'm wired. I was raised this way. My parents are that way. So, I'm that way. That's a lie.

Lies: “I Will Never Change” or “They Will Never Change”

The Bible says this in Philippians 4:13. Listen to what it says. The lie is what? I cannot change. What's the truth? The truth is Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” In other words, the truth is you can be what God wants you to be. You can do what God wants you to do. And we have to remove the lie “I can't change” with the Truth “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”. And if you don't change the lie with Truth, you will never change. Are you with me?

Let me give you another lie that we often believe. I'm just giving these, by way of example. Here's another lie: They will never change. Don't we say that all the time? I can change, you know, because you know, I love Jesus. [E.g.] I'm humble, and he's proud and he's arrogant. He'll never, he's always been like that, you know. Husbands say that about wives and wives say about husbands. Parents say that about kids and kids say that about parents. And you say that about friends and others, and so on and so forth. We all believe [the] lie: They will never change. By the way, as long as you embrace that lie, you will never help them to change. So, that lie has to be replaced by Truth. So, what's the Truth? What does God's Word say about that? Well, how about this verse in Luke 1:37. The Bible says, “With God, all things are……. Come on Bible scholars! With God all things are……POSSIBLE. That's the Truth. You see, just as God changed you, God can change them. And so, if we're going to see any measure of victory, if we're going to change and break that stubborn habit, you know, or break that established pattern of living, friends, we must replace the lies that we believe with Truth.

About two days ago, or maybe a few [days], maybe a week or so ago, my wife received a Facebook message from a friend of ours who is a believer. Loves the Lord and wanted to go to Israel to see the sights of the Holy Land. She wrote on her Facebook that she wants to go there, but she hates to fly because she is dead fearful of flying. She says, “I am absolutely petrified to fly.” And [a friend] said, “Why?” She said because [on] the last few flights she had, once [she had] a bomb scare, and the other two times her plane was struck with lightning. So, she said, “Hey, listen. I don't want to fly. I am fearful. Can anybody help me to overcome my fear of flying?” So, she asked this to her Facebook friends, and her Facebook Christian friends wrote back these words of advice. All right, you tell me if these are helpful words. Here's what they said. Her pastor's wife said “Just take drugs such as Dramamine or Valium.” A friend said, “Sorry, I can't help!” Someone else said, “Take a boat.” Her pastor cited statistics reminding her that flying is still safer than driving, you know. All right? Another said try essential oils such as lavender or peppermint oil, they'll help with anxiety. One person said, “I hate flying. I took off from Jerusalem in a thunderstorm at midnight, and our plane was hit multiple times with lightning.” “Take Dramamine. It's the only way to go.” Another person gave these words of “wisdom”, they said, “My mom and I were on a flight and the hydraulics caught on fire. So, they dumped the fuel and we landed in the nearest airport.”

With friends like that, who needs enemies?! But you know, as my wife shared that with me, I thought to myself, you know, none of that was actually helpful. None of that is actually helpful. I mean, maybe that's wise advice. And I can see myself saying, “Hey, listen. Don't you know that flying is still safer than driving?” But it didn't help her fear. That didn't help her worry. You see, we need to help her. She needs to hear God upon this matter. She needs God's advice. She needed God's perspective. You know what she needed? She needed the lie that she'd embraced, replaced with Truth. Maybe she needed this verse [in Philippians 4:6]: “Be anxious for nothing. But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.” You see, friends: We will never live a transformed life until we have a transformed mind. We'll never have a transformed mind until we fill our mind with the Truth of God's Word. Hey, listen. You want to change your life? You want to break that stubborn habit? You want to stop doing certain things and start doing other things? Then you need to renew the mind. That's the only answer to a transformed life. Well, how do we renew the mind? You must fill your mind with the Truth of God's Word.

And there's two ways we do that. Are you ready? This is the sermon tonight. That was all introduction! So here are the two main points and I know you're ready, you can write them down. No, you don't have to write them down because you’ll look at me and say, “That is so obvious”. A changed life comes by a renewed mind. We renew the mind by filling the mind with the Truth of God's Word. Truth pushes out the lies that we believe and will change the life. So how do you fill the mind with Truth?

We Must Read the Bible Devotionally

Number One. I even, I even, I even hate to say this because it's so flat out obvious: Read the Bible. Oh, wow, I thought it was going to be something profound. I thought I was coming to [church] camp to get dazzled with “truth”. Sorry. Read the Word. Read the Bible. Now I know this is obvious but here's what amazes me. Although it is obvious and although every single one of you tonight could have given me the right answer, it amazes me how few Christians actually read the Bible. So, don't sit there and be “pious” [scoffing], “Pfft! I knew that.” Because I might just come and ask you [scoffing too], “So, do you read it?”

The Disconnect

I read this statistic. It says the average Christian - now you think about your own home - has 4.7 Bibles in their house. Although most of us have 4.7 - and I don’t know what “point seven” is ( you have three quarters of a bible, maybe that's a New Testament and half of an Old Testament) - but you have 4.7 Bibles. And yet having given that statistic, do you know that only 12% of Christians actually read the Bible on a regular basis? And some 41% of those [polled] never read the Bible at all. And you know, when I read that, I was amazed, you know?  Wow, you know, we have 4.7 Bibles, and only 12% of all people read the Bible on a regular basis. That's amazes me.

It amazes me because if I were to ask you tonight, “

1. 1. Do you believe the Bible to be the word of God?


2. 2. Do you believe the Bible can change your life?


3. 3. Do you believe the Bible can help you solve your problems?


4. 4. Do you believe the Bible can give you direction in life?


5. 5. Do you believe the Bible to be God's inspired word?”

Everybody would say “Yes, I believe.” In fact, although we believe that, isn't it amazing that so few actually read it? Why? Why are we like that? I don't know! Sometimes people think well, you know, it's just too difficult to read. It's not as difficult as you think it is. Do you realize that you could sit down, begin reading in the book of Genesis at an average speed, and you could read the Bible through in 72 hours and 40 minutes. That means if you read the Bible, just 12 minutes a day, you could read the entire Bible through in a year. Did you hear me? 12 minutes a day at average speed and you can read the Bible through in a year. Here's what is amazing: Do you know that The Straits Times has as much reading material as the entire New Testament? Everyday, Christians, thousands of them in Singapore, read the newspaper from cover to cover. And yet they can't spend 12 minutes a day reading the Word.

No wonder we cannot break a stubborn habit. No wonder our lifestyles don't change. No wonder you're calling Pastor Jason and saying, “Help! I can't overcome my anger! They're like this and they will never change.” And I would say, “Read the Bible!” Start renewing your mind, put down the newspaper, throw it out and pick up the Word. It will do you more good. But friends, do you know, I think the real reason people don't read the Bible is this and this is sad to us.

No Urgency for Daily Drinking in of Truth Results in Lack of Transformation into His Image

I think to most people, it's not urgent. Reading the Bible, for some reason isn’t urgent. You see, it's more urgent for us to get to work on time and get to school on time than it is to spend time in God's word, right? Because after all, you know, no one's going to fire you or kick you out of class because you failed to have your morning devotions. Correct? But see, here's what we forget. When we neglect reading the Word of God, we will pay a price. You neglect reading the Word, you'll pay a price. What price you're going to pay? Paul told us. If you're not reading the Word of God, you're not filling your mind with God's thoughts. Therefore you're not renewing your mind and your life won't change. You won't be able to break that stubborn habit. You won't be able to change when God wants you to change. You see, you're not going to reflect and radiate the life of Jesus Christ. You're going to continue to limp along in your walk and your relationship with God. Because, you see, a transformed life results from a renewed mind and we renew the mind by filling our mind with [the] Truth of God's Word. We fill our mind [with] the Truth of God's word when we pick up the Bible. And we just simply start reading what God said.

So, I ask again, “Do you want to change? Is there an area of your life that you want changed and transformed?” Hey, I think you're here [at camp] this week because there's something in your life you want put straight; there's a change you want to make. You want to draw closer. You want to stop doing this; you want to start doing this. Hey, [renewing our minds with God’s Truth through daily devotion] is where it begins. By the way, what a great place to start reading your Bible, creating some fresh habits. Right here. So, you want to change? Renew the mind. How do you renew the mind? Fill your mind with God's thoughts. How do you do that? Number one: You need to read the Word.

Memorizing God’s Word to Refrain from Sin and Lies

Number two, what do we do? We need to memorize the word. We need to read it. And we need to memorize the word. A changed life comes from a renewed mind. A renewed mind comes from filling our mind with God's thoughts. We fill our mind with the thoughts of God by reading the Word and by memorizing the Word of God. I love Psalm 119:11. The Bible says: “Your word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against you.” The word “hid” here means to hide in the heart. It simply means to memorize. And so why do we memorize the Bible? Notice: That I might not sin against God. You see, as we write God's word upon our heart, here's what happens. I begin to see as God sees. So, I now then, am able to do as God says. You see, if you're not writing the word of God upon your heart, you're not seeing as God sees. So, you're going to embrace lies. And when you embrace a lie, it's going to affect your lifestyle, it's going to affect your life. But as I begin to read and memorize the Word of God, I begin to hide it in my heart; I now can see as God sees. So, now I'm able to do as God says, and if you're not doing as God says, your life won't change, and you will not become the person that God wants to make you. All right?

Memorize God’s Specific Word in Season for Your Need

So, we should memorize scripture. But may I say that we're not to be memorizing Scripture at random? You need to memorize scripture to meet your present and pressing need. Are you with me? People say, “Well, I'm just going to memorize. So, you know, we have to memorize John 3:16.” All right? Are we going to memorize this? No, no, ma'am. We're talking about change. We're talking about drawing closer. So, when you memorize, memorize scripture that targets your present and pressing need. What's your struggle? What's your hang up? What do you want to see changed? What do you want to add to your life? Then memorize verses that speak to that area. For example? Maybe today you struggle with pride. You struggle with pride. That seems to be a human problem, okay? And so, you struggle with pride? Well, one verse that should we memorize, well, maybe you need to memorize James 4:6 that says that: “God [He] resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble.” So, when you're tempted to pride, here's what happens. The Spirit of God takes the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, and He brings James 4:6 back to your mind. So, now you can act accordingly. Because when you can see as God sees, you're likely to do as God says. Are you with me? You struggle with pride? Memorize that verse. So, when you're tempted to pride, the Spirit of God will bring it to your mind. Now, as you see as God sees, you can do as God says, and you can make a choice not to be prideful, but to be humble. Are you with me? Maybe your problem is not pride, or maybe you have a struggle with anger. Then memorize Proverbs 14:29 that says this: “He who is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who is impulsive exalts folly.” So, when you're tempted to anger and the flesh raises that ugly head of anger, the Spirit of God, because you've memorized the Word of God, will bring this verse back to your mind. So, you can act accordingly. Because you see, when you begin to see as God sees, you begin to do as God says.

Pastor Mike’s Struggle with Hot-Headed Speech and Behaviour

So, I'm going to give you an illustration. A personal illustration. It hurts me to tell you because I'm going to shatter your view of me. And it's not about the hairstyle. I used to struggle with a sin. I used to struggle with being hot-headed. You know? I'm talking about [being] quick-tempered whenever a conversation wasn't going my way. And you know, I wanted what I wanted. I would get very aggressive with my words, and I would drive the conversation to get what I wanted. Every time I got what I wanted [due] to hot-headedness, I'd walk away feeling bad because I knew it wasn't right. But I [had] always justified my actions and said, “Well, you know, that's just the way I am. I was raised that way. It's [the] way my father was. This way I am. After all, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Right? I am like him, you know.” So, I always justified my actions. As you can well imagine, in the early days of my life, I think I made more enemies than I did friends. But one day, as I was reading through the Proverbs, and I read a proverb a day (I've been doing it for 100 years! You know, in fact, I've been doing [this] a long time) as I was reading the Proverbs, the Spirit of God showed me this great verse found in Proverbs 17:27 that says this, it says: “He who has knowledge spares his words. But a man of understanding is of a calm spirit.” And I read that, I thought, “That's me.” So, I put that verse to memory. So, when I feel that spirit of aggressiveness rising, the Spirit of God always brings Proverbs 17:27 to my mind, and having brought it to my mind, I can act accordingly. I begin to attack the spirit of aggressiveness with the Truth of God's Word. I make a choice, you see, to be calm in spirit, rather than to be aggressive. My thinking, through the impartation of the Word of God, changes my actions because when we can see as God sees, we are likely to do as God says. Are you with me? You see the moment and the reason we memorize Scripture [is] so [that] we can face life struggles with Truth.

Keeping in Step with God through Acting on Truth

Because when we're filling our mind with the Truth of God's Word, friends, we are likely to begin reflecting the Truth that's been written up on our heart, and written upon our mind. In fact, remember this, all right? A changed life comes from a renewed mind. A renewed mind comes as we fill our mind with the Truth of God's Word. All right? We need to learn to attack the lies that we believe with Truth. If we don't, our life will never change. You’ve got to be filling your mind with the Truth of God's Word - reading and memorizing Scripture. If you want to have a change, like, let me tell you one story, then we're done. Okay.

Near 2000, a pastor by the name of Stuart Hall, had a little son, a little boy, nine years old, and he began to have bleeding from the rectum. Of course, this was a little disconcerting to him. So, he took him to the doctor, and the doctor said, “There's one of three things: Either he has a polyp, or he either has cancer, or he has leukemia.” And you can imagine the heart of the father dropped. He was a bit (wow) worried, discouraged, overcome with fear. As he was sitting there, kind of wallowing in the muck and the mire of his own self-pity and wondering, “Gosh, wait, why is this happening to me and so on and so forth”, the Lord brought back to him a verse that he had memorized a week before. The verse is found in Psalm 31: 24, and [it] reads this way, it says: “Be strong and take heart, all who hope in the Lord.” The Lord gave him that verse. I mean, he was encouraged thinking, wow, my hope is in the Lord. The Lord is in control. He knows this situation, and [the verse] so blessed his heart and so encouraged him that he taught this verse to his wife to encourage her. He also taught it to his son. So, when they went in for an operation, because they had to do an operation to determine exactly what the bleeding was from, the little boy was fearful. [He] looked up into his daddy with these big tear-filled eyes, and he said, “Daddy, I'm afraid.” Daddy just simply looked at him. He said, “Son, remember Psalm 31:24. Your hope is in the Lord.” Just before they went into surgery, the father prayed with the son and as he finished praying, [he could hear his] son mumbling. So, he put his ear close to his son, you could hear his son quoting Psalm 31:24. The father got a big smile upon his face because he knew what his son was doing. His son was attacking the lie of worry and fear with the Truth of God's Word, and he was winning the victory.

You see friends, because a changed life comes from a renewed mind. And a renewed mind comes as we fill our minds with the Truth of God's Word. Friends, if we begin to renew the mind, here's what can happen in your life. Like me, you could have a calm spirit instead of an explosive spirit. You could be able to push that temptress and those thoughts of lust from the mind. You can overcome your worry and stop being paralyzed by your fear. You can see satisfaction start overtaking you rather than greed. You can see hatred be overcome and replaced by kindness and expressed in love. In fact, you could see your life radically changed and begin to reflect the Person of Jesus Christ. Why? Because you see a changed life comes from a renewed mind. A renewed mind comes as we fill our mind with the Truth of God's Word. So, one question and we're done.

Questions for Reflection

How is your Bible reading? Are you memorizing Scripture? Because you see, if you're not filling your mind with the Truth of God's word, reading the Word, and memorizing the Word, then you're not going to see a transformed life. You'll never break that stubborn habit. You'll never stop doing the things you want to stop doing and start doing the very things you want to do. You're not going to overcome worry and fear. You're not going to overcome covetousness and lust. You're not going to overcome the spirit of greed. You're not going to have a heart possessed with a satisfaction - just satisfied with what God has given to you, and right where you are in life. You see, that comes as you fill your mind with Truth and purge the lies that we embrace, the lies that we believe with the Truth of God's Word. So, I ask [again], “How is your relationship with the Word?” Friends, what a time in our life, to recommit ourselves to the Truth of God's Word. Start reading it. 12 minutes a day. [At] an average speed. You can go from cover to cover. Then let's start targeting Scripture, memorizing it and writing it upon our heart, to help us in the areas of life where we struggle because the Bible says that the Spirit of God, the Word of God is the sword that the Spirit uses. You see, if you're not writing the word of God upon your heart, you have given the Holy Spirit nothing to bring back to your mind. If you can't see as God sees, you'll never do as God says. Are you with me? You see, God wants to transform your life, but He knows that you must transform your mind. How do you transform your mind? By filling your mind with the Truth of God's Word. How do we do that? We do that by reading and memorizing the Word. So, here's the challenge tonight, I challenge you. All right, I challenge you to come to God tonight and say, “Lord, I want to faithfully be reading Your Word.” By the way, for you, that might mean making some changes. It might mean getting up a little earlier every morning or not turning on the television at a certain time at night or putting away that novel or stopped reading that magazine. It just might demand a change. But it will be worth it. It'll be worth it. You won't regret it. God wants to change your life.

Closing Prayer

Let's pray, shall  we?

Lord, we just want to say thank You tonight. God, we’re so thankful for an instructive Word tonight. Just a simple little phrase. And I pray tonight, dear God, that You'd help us. Help us to fill our mind with the Truth of God's Word. Lord, help us to read it and to memorize it, that by it Lord, You might change us. Lord, there is power in Your word. Power to change our thinking and power to change our life. And I pray that these people, including myself, Lord, tonight, we all might be men and women of the Word. That we read it and memorize it, that we might be changed for Your glory. Lord, speak I pray to our hearts for Your glory. We ask in Jesus’ name, amen.

God bless you