Transforming to the will of God
Lesson 6
Rom 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
Rom 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is his good, pleasing and perfect will.
The first step to walking in health and healing is to have our mind renewed according to the word of God
- Faith can only begin where the will of God is known
- When we accept Christ into our lives this is the beginning of salvation 1Pe 2:1-3
- Salvation is just the beginning, maturity is the goal, heaven is the end result
- We often think that evangelism is only to see the unsaved saved
- But once we are saved, we have to make sure that our heart is evangelised in every area of God’s will
- For us to stand in faith for healing it is vital that we know the will of God Heb 3:12-13
- It is possible to be a believer and yet have a sinful unbelieving heart
- That is why God has given us his word, and in his word, we see the power of God and what God is able to do in and through us
Rom 1:16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.
- The very thing that activates the power of God is our believing.
- Belief: From G4102; to have faith in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), by implication to entrust especially one’s spiritual wellbeing to Christ): – believe (-r), commit (to trust), put in trust with.
- Our belief is based on the character of God
- The word of God is the will of God and the will of God is based in the character of God
- We cannot expect what we do not believe in or have faith for.
The biggest challenge of the Christian life is to allow our experiences to be determined by the word of God not allow our experiences to dictate the Word of God
- Faith is a process of evangelising the unbelieving heart. Rom 10:8-10
- It is possible as a new Christian to believe in Jesus but not believe in healing, or deliverance or prosperity, to not believe God can give you peace, blessing, favour, righteousness.
Psa 103:1 Of David. Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Psa 103:2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits
Psa 103:3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
Psa 103:4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
Psa 103:5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Psa 103:6 The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.
Salvation is the entrance, God has so many blessings, promises and benefits but they have to be known and have to be believed to be received.
- It is possible to be a believer yet walk in unbelief. Jas 1:5-8
- That means that if we don’t have a settle conviction and certain belief in healing God is not obligated to heal us
- That is the same for all his promises and blessing
- Unbelief will cause us to doubt the very character of God
Eph 1:17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
Eph 1:18 I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
Eph 1:19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength,
- One of the great heroes of the bible is Abraham, he refused to allow doubt to dominate his thinking and belief. Rom 4:18-21
- We have to understand that we should be continually evangelising our unbelieving hearts
2Co 4:3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
2Co 4:4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
- The enemy will do whatever he can to keep us from having an unbelieving heart
- Our heart is the centre of our intellect and understanding.
Pro 4:20 My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words.
Pro 4:21 Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart.
Pro 4:22 for they are life to those who find them and health to a man’s whole body.
Pro 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.
- Everything we do, everything we are is determined by what is in our heart
- The bible speaks about, knowing things in your heart, praying in your heart, meditating in your heart, hiding the word of God in your heart, devising plans in your heart, doubting in our heart, pondering in our hearts, believing in your hearts,
- It also speaks about having a loving heart, fearful heart, a courageous heart, anxious heart, a repentant heart, a grieving heart, a humble heart, angry heart, a revived heart, a troubled heart, a stubborn heart, a hard heart, The bible tells us that God wants us to love him with all of our heart
- If the heart is centre of our intellect, our emotions are the centre of how we react and respond,
Ps 119:11 I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.
Col 3:16 Let the word [spoken by] Christ (the Messiah) have its home [in your hearts and minds] and dwell in you in [all its] richness, as you teach and admonish and train one another in all insight and intelligence and wisdom [in spiritual things, and as you sing] psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody to God with [His] grace in your hearts.
- If God’s word is not in our heart we will act or respond to everything else that is in our heart, whether it is fear or doubt, or anxiety, confusion,
- When the bible speaks about your heart it speaks about the central issues of our life, the very core of our being; this is where our convictions and beliefs are developed.
Heb 10:22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
Heb 10:23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.Heb 10:38 But my righteous one will live by faith. And if he shrinks back, I will not be pleased with him.”
Heb 10:39 But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved.
- Our heart is where faith in God is birthed
Psa 37:3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Psa 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psa 37:5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
The power of an unrepentant heart
Mar 11:22 “Have faith in God,” Jesus answered.
Mar 11:23 “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him.
Mar 11:24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
Mar 11:25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
Mar 11:26 [But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your sins.]
- Unforgiveness is one of the greatest blockers of our breakthrough
- If we hold onto unforgiveness we are not able to receive from God
- Unforgiveness leads to bitterness and a hard heart. Isa 38:15-7
- God wants to turn our bitterness into peace
Eph 4:31 Get rid of all bitterness, passion, and anger. No more shouting or insults, no more hateful feelings of any sort.
Eph 4:32 Instead, be kind and tender-hearted to one another, and forgive one another, as God has forgiven you through Christ.
- Bitterness if allowed to remain will result in unforgiveness, resentment and hatred
- Someone said unforgiveness and bitterness is like swallowing poison hoping it will kill someone else.
Heb 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.
Heb 12:15 See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.
- If bitterness and resentment is not dealt with in our lives it allows our lives to become defiled and it opens the door to sickness and suffering because these are always very quick to partner with bitterness.
Having a believing heart
Gal 3:1 You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.
Gal 3:2 I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?
Gal 3:3 Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?
Gal 3:4 Have you suffered so much for nothing—if it really was for nothing?
Gal 3:5 Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe what you heard?
Gal 3:6 Consider Abraham: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”
It is the heart of God that we would learn to simply take Him at his word and that we would believe His word.
Psa 119:89 Lamedh. Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the heavens.
Psa 119:90 Your faithfulness continues through all generations; you established the earth, and it endures.
Faith begins when we acknowledge God’s word is settle and we allow it to be a settled conviction in our hearts. God word does not change according to our circumstances we need to believe for change according to the Word of God.
- Our prayer as you begin to meditate upon these faith giving scriptures that have been taught that you will begin to speak and confess healing over your life
Isa 55:9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Isa 55:10 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
Isa 55:11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.