Leon Fontaine - A Mind At War

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Hey everybody it is so good to have you with me today. We've got an amazing topic. I know is going to help you so much. Now if you been in the Word for a little while you've heard the phrase renew your mind, and it's been around for years we've got some great teachers out there who teach on the renewing of the mind. But I want to dive into it a little bit and really give you some of the mechanics. My brain just kind of works funny whenever I hear doctrine.

I want to think through what's the practical application, because so many people have taken verses from the bible and just beat up Christians and made us believe things that are wrong. Believe it or not I believe my whole life in the Bible with great teachers but there's always teachers coming into conferences or people that you really respect when you're young that teach you things, and then you think it's true and you find out years down the road that you've believed a lie. And when you believe something that's not true, it creates junk in your life because for every belief that you have there's an accompanying consequence. Your beliefs form your behaviour and so much of legalism has gotten into Christianity that we really think that we are the ones who are making God happy with us et cetera.

So as I dive into this I'm going to show you with what renewing of the mind is and then let's take a look at some things that the body of Christ has really missed it on and I believe it's affecting you majorly. All right. Romans 12. I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God that you present your body a living sacrifice. Now here the word bodies means whole you that you present the whole you, a living sacrifice holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove, the word prove is it you trying to impress somebody. It means that you can walk out this good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Now Romans 12 goes on to talk about God's grace. It goes on to talk about God's faith, but as we talk about renewing the mind what are some of the major things that we've got to renew our mind to? We need to be aware of those and then the process of renewing your mind. All right so you are a three part being, body, soul, spirit, you live in this body this earth suit, you have a mind and this mind is the gateway. Your eyes, your ears, your mouth. All three of them are. Your mouth is saying something your ears listening to something your eye is seeing something and you're bringing in information, and then you are with your mind are interpreting that information based on how you've renewed your mind. And so you notice the word re-newed, when you give your life to Christ if you want to live a life with joy, and peace, etc. You have to get God's thoughts God's beliefs and you've got to meditate on them till they actually renew your mind into a different way.

The Bible says that if you do this that you're going to prove what is good and acceptable and. Perfect will of God. Well let's look at the opposite. If you don't renew your mind, you won't even have what's good or what's acceptable or what's perfect. Now a lot of people don't like this but I do. When I look at these three words, good, acceptable, and perfect the word good. If someone were to say Leon, how are you doing. And I say I'm good. That's OK. If I say I'm acceptable, I say it's perfect. These three words mean different things. If your life is just going good when it comes to the call of God, what are you doing with your life. Then it's just good. But the Bible says it's the renewal of your mind that gets you from good to acceptable, and then from acceptable to perfect.

Now some will say well you know there's a lot of pressure Leon that I've got to find God's perfect will for my life. You don't have to find it. You just renew your mind and you'll be it. As you renew your mind to the principles about who you are. Who God Is, who Jesus is. And as we understand these things you just naturally live your life out. It's not this hard trying to find God's will. I got so many friends that need 40 day fasts, and they need to have a week away at a cabin to hear from God for direction and, then all these things they need a prophet to provide prophetic word as to where they're going and what they should be doing and none of these things do I find in the New Testament. We hear about prayer. We'll hear about fasting. But they've got all of these things in the wrong places. Because when you renew your mind with the way God thinks, you simply will begin to act like God would act, you would act like somebody who's in charge of the planet.

If Jesus is the first. The Bible says, child, son of God and then we are as well. And when we walk this planet we need to walk in authority we walk with peace we walk with joy. We walk with confidence. And so as we look at this thing called Renewing the mind I want to go to the first thing we're going to talk about that I think is one of the crucial areas that if you don't renew your mind in what I'm about to talk about, you will be easy prey for the devil. He literally will shut you down anytime he wants and if he can shut you down and your faith won't work then you're not going to live in peace. You're not going to live in joy. You're not going to live in any of these things.

Now in Romans chapter 5 verse 17 to 20 it says, for if by one man's offence. Death reigned. It took over the control, it says because of one person. Much more they would receive up and dance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one Christ Jesus. I've always said that ticks me off that Adam in the garden just couldn't obey God on this and because he disobeyed him and Eve disobeyed God, that all of us got put into sin, every sickness, every disease, every argument, every death, destruction, all that junk that goes on in this world. It's because of sin, and but it's because of Adam's sin and Satan wants you to think that it's because of your sin and when you begin to go back into legalism which is the Old Covenant then you begin to feel like if you sin, if you do something wrong, that you are disqualifying yourself from the blessing and the peace and the joy of God.

Now none of us want people to sin. I mean, for him that kneweth, the Bible says if you know to do something good and you don't do it, it's sin. It's as if you're not in faith about something that's sin. If you're just thinking something that's sin. And then you've got all the sins whatever they are your worst list. And so. If sin is going to shut God down and his blessing down in his favor on your life down then there's no way you're going to do this because you've had a negative thought already today whether it's about me looking at me in his camera whether it's about somebody who got mad at whether it's a sexual thought whether it's an angry thought an unforgiving thought whether it's a thought that was not of faith because whatever is not a faith is sin. Like when we get taught by people that it's just sin that shuts down. We literally have a belief system that the enemy just makes a little attack every one. Of the miracles that you need.

And when you begin to believe God for something money finances healing your career to go to a new place etc. etc. Your kids your grandkids that if you think for a moment that you qualified yourself you qualified yourself for god's blessing because you were good enough. Then what you're telling me is you're better than the other guy that's not getting blessed by God. Jesus totally shut that thought down when you know that the Pharisees were sitting there and the way they would pray would be oh lord I'm glad I'm not like that sinner. I'm glad I'm not like that the tax collector. And they would beat their chest and say be merciful to me a sinner. When you begin to think that you earn the blessing of God that you earned the miraculous power of God because you're so good. That's where we get pride in the body of Christ as people rise up and think that they're all that that.

Look at me and then they'll judge others like you haven't got your life together. What's wrong with you. What have you done wrong. But as we go into this now and I'm not saying that as that as we continue to grow when God that we should be going off and to send you shouldn't be ripping people off and stabbing people and we can, and disobey all that no because the world's going to shut you down. But we listen to me because it's going to help you understand some of the things you've got to renew your mind to. So it says that because of one man's offense, Adam, death reigns on this planet. Death to relationships death your body. Death to your mind your family your home. Death everything it comes. But then it says but because of one, man how much more we receive an abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness and we are going to reign in life by one Jesus Christ. Therefore as the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation. Even so by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life for as by one man's disobedience.

Many were made sinners so by the obedience of one shell many be made righteous. Moreover the law entered in the offence that the offence might abound but where sin abounded Grace did much more abound. One of the crucial things to the Christian life is to have this complete dependence and to renew your mind to scriptures that show us the new covenant in the Old Covenant. Yes. Keep the law at the Mosaic Law. Keep that Mosaic law and you could earn the things that you know that you needed in it and if you wanted this promise you had to. Be okay with if, if you'll do this you can have this. But now in this New Testament in this new covenant he is saying to you.

Stop allowing the devil to attack your mind and go. You're not good enough. You thought something wrong. You didn't give enough you didn't do this enough. You haven't volunteered so-and-so is going to get healed because they're handing out bibles and they're volunteering more. No we want you to give. We want you to volunteer. We want you to get involved. We all need to do something for God. But if you feel like you're earning it I'll never forget a story I love to tell. And you probably heard it too but it needs to be repeated one time praying on a Prayer Line.

And we had this lady in our church who loved to volunteer but I think she had the wrong motives. She was volunteering to prove herself she was volunteering to, to you know get God to notice her and people to notice her and so we were praying one day and a midweek service we would have people come together on a Wednesday night and then we would teach the word and then we would pray for people at the front and a new person came into the church. You could tell they were literally off the streets. Not maybe living on the streets but you could tell that they had not had their life together by the smells and by you could tell they were in alcohol and cigarettes and things and the worn look on her face and the fear the confusion you know it just written on her. And so she gets in line beside this godly Christian lady.

Now I found out when I went to pray with her she was the first one I prayed for. Right off the streets, that literally I could tell. I don't think she knew God at all. She was there and she had a problem with her arm and her shoulder. And so I just talked her for a few minutes let her know that Jesus loved her, that that Jesus qualified her for all the blessings and that healing is one of the blessings and that when I pray for her if she would just trust that OK you're not getting it because you're good enough you're getting it because it's a free gift from Jesus. And you'd see her just go, ah. Because she was in a church I'm sure she was thinking that I have to be good so that I can get blessed by God. So I just kind of removed all the pressure of, be good now in knowing this lady later. I mean she had not figured out her life with alcohol with drugs with sex with lying, stealing. I mean she had not had any other area of her life together. But then when I prayed with her she was instantaneously healed. And what was remarkable was she would lift her arm up. The pain was gone. She had destroyed the arm somehow had been able to use it props to a little bit.

And so the ladies so I went on a lady beside her now as this lady has been on our church 10, 15 years plugs in everywhere gives everywhere but she feels like Wow God's going to heal her. He's going to heal me because I've been doing stuff now. Her faith is in the wrong thing. She has not got her mind renewed to God's grace. She's got her mind still thinking that the law is what helps her out. But the Bible says right here that the law. It just is here to show us how bad how bad, how we can't do it by ourselves. In fact it says in one of the Scriptures here in Romans chapter 5. It says the law enters that the offence might abound any time you try to obey a law because you're going to be good enough. Now this law comes in. The law actually makes that sin worse because it's law. It's the right motive so I lay my hands on this lady. Oh she was going to receive a miracle and nothing happened to her at all. I know because after the service that day she came out to talk to me and she had tears in her eyes and she was passionately upset.

Whenever you see a Christian being passionate, you might think that while they know they must be right they're so passionate no, I find a ton of people are passionately wrong. So she looked at me tears in her eyes she goes it's just not right. I said What. He healed that little and she had a word for this woman. I don't want to repeat on TV. She healed her. And I'm in here handing out bibles volunteering cooking doing everything I can for this church. And he won't heal me. And it went off and I tried to explain to her that you can earn healing. And once your mind goes towards you've earned it you're good enough for it. You're sin free enough, etc., that you literally shut down the miraculous power of God. I've always found that when people begin to feel like they've lived their life in such a way that why wouldn't God do this, that they are moving back into the Old Covenant and there they are trying to get a miracle to happen and I'm promising you sir, we want you to live your life right.

Yes please don't hit someone slap somebody please get your life together because you can. You can mess it up but God's favour and God's blessing is a free gift because Jesus qualified you for this miracle. It's Jesus that qualifies you for the favour of God. God's favour. His Grace is on your life and you have to believe it. The Bible says in the book of Ephesians, for by grace Are you saved through faith. So as you believe and that she is basically as you begin to fade cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God you begin to hear more and more about the cross the throne. What Jesus did when he died then he rose again and you begin to realize that the favour and the blessing of God is upon you because of Jesus. And then the power of Jesus is there. His grace is not just his favour. One of the favours is Grace gives you is the power to live right. His Grace is on you don't have to deal with temptation where you're just struggling and sweating and you look at that alcohol or drugs. No no no. His grace his power helps you to live.

And so my encouragement to you is until we go back to Romans 12 and recognize that you need to renew your mind with the word of God begin to study. Begin to read if you have to go to our website and order in more messages about what is that. There's a new covenant saying and just begin to renew your mind. All of a sudden as you feed on the word you just begin to believe. I'm highly favoured of God. I'm favoured of God because Jesus took my sin past present and future. He took the punishment that goes with that sin past present and future so that the blessing in the favour of God would always be on me. Someone said to me why would God do that that encourages people to sin. Actually I find that when people get stuck in sin because of legalism they never make it out. But when people realize God's grace is on them even if they slip and fall or fall into center or make a mistake they now know the grace of God is there to give them the ability to rise up to get out of that to move on to be okay.

And so this is a crucial thing. Make sure that you study on your own. Romans Chapter 5 verses 17 to 20. And that way as you renew your mind to this truth, your heart will be in peace. Otherwise according to Romans Chapter 8 it says now there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Those who are in Christ Jesus so when Jesus is your lord of your life he qualified you. He blesses you. I've had so many people have been by their beds as they're dying and they'd say and we pray and believe God is family and friends and be praying with them and then just before they die with all the family gone they tell me it's okay pastor don't worry about it. I didn't want anybody to know that when I was a young girl I got an abortion or when I was a young man, you know, I just did some things I shouldn't have done. And I just know that that's why this is here.

So their misbelief is what's killing them. God's not withholding healing. They just don't even understand the new covenant don't even understand that God's grace is on them that he's forgiven them that the curse that went with their reaction went on Jesus that now when you come to God you come humbly knowing I've never earned it. I don't have anything that I can say I've done good enough to be blessed. But Jesus qualifies me Jesus is the one to make you fall in love with Jesus as you realize he loves every one of us imperfect people and then gives us the power to live the kind of life we want to live and we never have to allow condemnation in where the enemy comes in and shuts down the miracle that you need. As he begins to show you that you're not good enough, that things are working out. There's no way you're going to get this miracle and he'll let you look at other people who are so amazing and people often tell me Leon, listen I know so-and-so I've been praying for years and decades for a miracle of healing and never got it. Good Lord. If they can't get a miracle I'd never get one because they are so amazing. They know the word they live so righteous, again. That's not what brings the power in the favour of God. Isn't you earning it through anything that you do. It's actually believe me and no I'm never going to be good enough.

So God your grace your favour is on me so that I can be blessed. And then as I walk out this blessing and enjoy your love I enjoy your peace whatever I need to deal with. Your grace is also your power. Holy Spirit the Spirit of Grace is on the inside of us his power to take on that alcohol and addiction his power to take on what ever you need for miracles in your body miracles and your finances. It's all yours. And it begins to flow in your life. My goal is to get you to realize who you are because of Jesus and that's the starting point. Make sure as we talk about renewing your mind that you go back to the cross and your identity. Father I pray blessings upon them right now that they would just feel so great about who Jesus is that he qualified them and that today whatever they need from you. It comes as a free gift. They don't have to earn it. Crank it up or wait months till they get their life together. You will touch them. Bless them right now and still help them with every change of life they desire to go through. Lord guide them in this I pray in Jesus name. God bless you. We'll see you again next time.