Bill Johnson - How the Renewed Mind Empowers Authenticity
How important is the mind of Christ? It’s important for probably a thousand reasons, but one of them is that it’s the only way the authentic you will ever be known. The mind of Christ is not something imposed upon you; the mind of Christ is something you were designed for. The mind of Christ is actually the glove that fits perfectly; it’s the seamless connection between your design and the Designer. The renewed mind is, in a sense, meant to usher in the miraculous. It grants us access to a Godly self-esteem that anchors our souls in the nature and covenant of God. The third thing it does is that the renewed mind is free from anxiety. The renewed mind positions us for Godly creativity.
Stop trying to be different; stop trying to be original. Start trying to be authentic. Artists who try to be original often do foolish things, but artists who seek authenticity create. I’m telling you the absolute truth: you can create out of pain, but it’s never as wonderful as those who create out of the overflow of life in Christ. Every five-year-old is an artist, yet we enter an educational system where we’re taught this one’s an artist and that one is not; creativity should be a normal expression of every believer’s life. Whether you’re a lawyer, a doctor, a stay-at-home parent, or someone who works at the gas station, it doesn’t matter—creativity and authenticity are needed in every expression in society. There’s an authentic expression of who God made you to be that the world is aching for, and trying to copy other people stifles what God created us to be.
The true renewed mind, which functions within us, is free from the anxiety and the burdens that weigh us down, fearful of making mistakes. The renewed mind is not as fearful of making a mistake as it is of not taking risks. Think with me for a minute: the Christian life is supposed to be carefree. Is that even possible? A doctor wrote me a note saying I need to have no stress in my life and suggested that I deal with stressful things only one day of the week. Even that is challenging, as today turns into tomorrow and then into Tuesday.
Let me take you to a strange story. We won’t turn there, but you can study it on your own if you wish. Zechariah chapter one talks about four horns; in Scripture, horns represent authorities or powers. Four horns were released on the Earth. Four is the number that represents the Earth—the world, north, south, east, and west—so the enemy has unleashed four demonic powers into the Earth to discourage the people of God and undermine the work of the Gospel. God’s answer to these four horns was to release four artisans. That’s one of the strangest things, similar to when God said to acquire into battle first. The Lord’s answer for these four realms of authority and the powers that bring oppressive mindsets to the Earth was… artisans. In other words, a worldwide movement of creativity—a worldwide movement of restored, authentic expressions born from a relationship with God—that would terrorize the enemy and reverse the effects of those four horns.
How important is the mind of Christ? It’s important for probably a thousand reasons, but one is that it’s the only way the authentic you will ever be recognized, realized by both yourself and those around you. The mind of Christ is not something placed upon you; it is something you were designed for. The mind of Christ is truly the glove that fits perfectly; it’s the seamless connection between your design and the Designer. A verse I mentioned here a few weeks ago, and I will mention again, could be the key passage for my life over the last ten years: John 15:7, where it says, «If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask whatever you desire, and it will be done for you.»
I want to wrap this session up with this verse. Let me discuss it for a moment. You abide in me means live in a place with a felt realization of God’s presence. Let the affection of your heart be anchored in the fact that God is with us—Emmanuel, God with us. He said, «Abide in me.» My words abide in you—be intentional about embracing, meditating, and praying over what God has said about your life. It can’t be passive; it can’t be an occasional glimpse at a nice, inspirational verse. It must be an engaging of the meat of the Word so that it has its full effect. Do you know the difference between milk and meat in Scripture? Milk comforts, while meat brings about change. It’s called the word of righteousness in Hebrews 5—the word that provokes change within me. Embracing what God has declared over my life will provoke personal transformation consistent with His truth.
What would it be like, as stated in Romans 12:3, to think according to faith? Abide in me, let my words abide in you, then you become positioned to co-labor with God to see His will and purpose accomplished in and through you on Earth. It’s the all-encompassing verse that describes our design, our purpose, and our role in seeing transformation happen around us. It’s a transformed mind that transforms a person; it’s a transformed person that transforms a city. There’s a connection, and usually, I have been drafted into this role of partnering with the Lord—not just to live with the realization that I can do nothing without Him, but to stop doing nothing with Him. I want John 15:7 to be more and more my daily bread, where intentional living and the manifest presence of God accompany me, embracing what He’s declared over my life, unwilling to believe a lie. In that context, let’s see His will done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Let’s stand together. Let me pray for your mind. He says I’m not joking, but I’m joking anyway. All right, Father, thanks for the mind of Christ; you’ve given it to us as an inheritance. It’s in our account. I pray this would be a week of personal transformation, where we think what you think, see what you see, and feel what you feel, so that what you’ve designed for us would be more fully embraced by every believer in this room. In fact, I pray for our new believers here, that they will not have to go through the years of turmoil and confusion that many of us have experienced, because they fully embrace the mind of Christ as our inheritance. I pray for this in honor of the name of Jesus. Everyone said, «Amen.»