Keep
thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.
Proverbs 4:23
Biologically, the heart is the centre of life. The Bible also reinforces the fact that your mind acts as the pivot around which your whole existence revolves, as it is where thinking takes place (Prov. 23:7).
Success does not demand prayer and fasting, as much as engaging your senses positively. Man’s brain is the myth behind all his gains. Every gain in life is a result of the use of the brain. No one reigns in life without the use of the brain. It is the effective use of the brain that secures you a throne here on earth. Every star in life is essentially sense-made. Heights in life are results of insights inside of a man.
Success, therefore, is a product of the right use of the sense. No school has a Faculty of Success. It is the use of the sense that commands success. Supernatural intelligence therefore calls for extreme attention.
The Mind
We can define the mind as a man’s seat of feelings or thoughts. It is the intelligence faculty of a man. The mind has the ability to think and reason.
Your worth in life is essentially a product of the use to which you put your mind. Think of this: How much worth or value does a mad man have? He is not recognized as a person, only as a specimen. For instance, he’s not permitted to vote and cannot be voted for. As a matter of fact, he’s not reckoned with during census, meaning, he’s not counted as a human being.
What is the problem? He’s mentally grounded! And by that situation, he has lost his entire worth as a man. You’re a person of great value; but your value is essentially a function of the use to which you put your mind.
When you
become mentally grounded, you automatically become valueless. For instance,
can you send a mad man on an errand? Can he work in any organization?
There are many physically blind people who are getting so much done in life. There are also many crippled today that are accomplishing great feats in life. But this is not so for the mad. We’ve never read of any accomplishment by a mad man. At the point of insanity, a man’s entire dignity is eroded, his entire value is lost!
That gives you an idea of the place of your mind in determining your ultimate value in life. Your mind is the factor that makes you relevant to the world. When it is out of place, your place in life is lost!
The Mind And The Spirit
Unfortunately, many Christians think that the spirit of a man is more important than the mind. But I’d like to let you know, that your mind is as important as your spirit. For instance, you can’t be saved without your mind. John 1:12 says:
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
The place of “believe” is not the spirit, but the mind. To believe is a product of conviction. What you’re saying is, “Based on these facts, I agree”. In fact, “believe” can be defined as mental assent. That is, “I concur. I agree. With these facts at my disposal, I now accept Jesus as my personal Lord and Saviour.”
That’s why we can safely say that your mind is the gateway to your life. Nothing gets to you without first passing through your mind. And when the Bible says, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4: 23), it’s talking about paying absolute attention to your mind, because your mind determines your ultimate worth in life.
Two Types Of Mind
We have an advantage in redemption when it comes to the issue of the mind. There is a marked difference between the mind of a saved person and that of an unsaved person.
The Carnal And The Spiritual Mind
For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Because
the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law
of God, neither indeed can be.
Romans 8:6-7
There is the carnal mind and also the spiritual mind. The carnal mind is what the carnal man possesses, and the spiritual mind is what the spiritual man possesses. The ultimate product of the carnal mind is death, whereas the ultimate product of the spiritual mind is life and peace.
Every unregenerated (unsaved) soul possesses a reprobate mind that makes him do silly things. No wonder the Bible says in Romans 1:28:
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
But there is good news for you! One of the things that happen when one gets born again is the renewal of the mind.
Therefore
if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away;
behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17
If a carnal and unregenerated mind is capable of producing results, then you don’t have any reason under heaven to be complaining and murmuring about life, if you are saved.
The Mind Of Christ
For
who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we
have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:16
New life
is infused into a man’s mind at redemption, making him supernaturally
smarter than his peers. You have a spiritual mind at salvation. The Bible
describes it as the mind of Christ! Ephesians 4:23 also says:
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Your mind was “spirited” at new birth. And the Bible further tells us in Romans 8:11:
But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
That means, your biological system (including your mind) was affected at new birth, by the infusion of the Spirit of life. So your mind is now “spirited”or regenerated. You’re a new person, and belong to a strange class.
You have the mind of Christ! At new birth, your natural mind was exchanged for that of Christ. It was first regenerated, then it was “spirited”, and then it is delivered to you as a complete package qualified as “the mind of Christ.” And of Christ, John 1:3-5 says:
All
things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was
made.
In him was life; and the life was the light of men.
And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
So, you have the ability to bring new things to being. You have what it takes to operate as a co-creator with God, because all the abilities of heaven is packaged inside you. You’re a divine think-tank! You have what it takes to find your way out of any storm.
This should help you to appreciate your worth, as you confront the challenges of life. You say to yourself, “I have what it takes to deal with this issue. This matter is not beyond me.” Why? “I have the mind of Christ. And as soon as that mind is put to work, I have what it takes to create what I need. For by that mind were all things made, and without that mind was not anything made that was made.”
Friend, the quality of your life is determined by the state of your mind. Without your mind, you have no worth. It is the use to which you put your mind that makes the world to mind you. “Don’t mind him!” they say, because the man is not using his mind. But they will mind you when your mind is in productive use.
Somebody once asked me, “What do you do with your time?” And I replied, “I read and think.” As a result, I don’t waste too much energy. Before I take any step, I must have determined what it takes to get the result I am looking for.
Every star is known to be a thinker; and every committed thinker is bound to be a star. Stop running here and there. Sit down first and think before you start running around. Calculate your steps, so that when you do take your steps, you already know where you’re going.
You are a unique human being, if you are saved. You have a regenerated mind, you have the mind of Christ and a “spirited” mind. And much more, because you have the Holy Spirit dwelling in you, you also have One who quickens your mind. So, by the appropriate use of your mind, I see every crisis in your family, business or finances disappear!
