Hearing for Transformation — Alan Martin

Saturating the Mind With God's Word

Allow it to so saturate the way we think. Literally, it begins to refrain our thought process. Like a set of rains it begins to hold it in to rain in the way we think. Another way to look at is the word frame like diaphragm that diaphragm is that?

External area that controls our breathing when we begin to have God's Word. Saturate our minds in this way. It literally frames in the way we think and If God's Word begins to frame the way we think. It begins to affect the way we speak.

It begins to affect the judgments we make. It begins to affect the way we respond. We still can't control the things that happen to us. But you know what we can stop doing right away we can stop responding in the wrong way that makes matters worse and immediately begin to experience the peace of God.

Guarding our hearts and minds the self-control of the Holy Spirit meekness and lowliness and gentleness and kindness all as a result of the Word of God inside of us is begun to take a grip on the way we think and The tighter grip the Word of God has on us the more We're living under we're living under the word.

Abiding in the Word as Christ's Disciples

We're obeying the word now. Jesus said this if you abide in me, there's another place. He calls it. If you continue it's the same word. It's just translated different in our Bible in John chapter 8. You've heard this when the Jews Jesus was talking to the Jewish leaders.

He said if you continue in my word. Then you are my disciples indeed and then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. I'm gonna break that statement down if you continue in my word. It's the same word abide if you live in my word now.

Here's here's here's a word picture because I thought how do I explain this in a word picture for you? You're visiting here. You live at your house. Visiting the Word of God is not going to fix you you can visit and and now and then subject yourselves.

I'm visiting a place where I'm exposing myself to the Word of God. That's different from living in it every day. Men go to work. They spend some time there, but they don't. Well some whites think they live there, but.

But they return home they come home, it's where they live and Until you and I are living in the Word of God, we're not true disciples. We're just visiting. You may be open to it you may be interested in it you may see that it'd be helpful.

But the person who lives there means they actually interact with the Word of God every single day. They're surrounded by. It is it is it is a daily part of their life and that is what Jesus said. Only those who are living in dwelling in my word continually or my real disciples and Only those living with my word in that way Actually come to know the truth.

You don't realize that you can actually hear. If in a visiting way, like for example, you can visit regularly. If if you visited my house once a week. Would I tell people you live there? No, you just visit regularly.

If I visited your house, you're not gonna tell people I live there you say I visit there. It's my question to you. I know you're visiting here. You're here visit and I thank you some of your members of this church many of you are.

But my question is do you see the difference? Do you live in God's Word? Did you visit it? Is it with you all the time when you drive? Are you thinking about God's Word? Are you thinking about God's Word, whatever you're doing at work gentlemen or ladies, whatever you're doing.

You know you God's Word and his presence and fellowship can be with you in all that you do even when and I'll say this because we live in the real world, even if your conscious attention is on some Responsibility, you know what you can do in those situations.

You do what you do as under the Lord and you seek to do it. Well to be a good testimony. So even though your mind is on specifically fulfilling you're teaching children or you're cleaning a building or you're you're you're straightening the kitchen.

Or you're whatever you're doing. You're doing what your boss tells you. Subconsciously you're doing it as under the Lord and Even in that you're even though your mind is focused on what's at hand. You're still doing it with the same purpose you live your life.

Walking According to the Spirit

It's it's this kind of person grows into a Follower of the Lord Jesus Christ a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. That develops the type of mind that Paul describes in Romans chapter 8. Romans chapter 8 the first part of the chapter.

Paul said the way we walk is. Type is determined by what type of mind we have. That's what he said the person who walks according to the flesh. That's the type of mind He has the flesh is still the one that's had the greatest influence over the way he thinks.

The person who walks in the Holy Spirit is. A person who the Holy Spirit and God's Word has had the greatest influence over the way he thinks because our Walking with the Lord is by faith. It's a choice.

He's we're never gonna walk wake up someday and suddenly the divine force field has us in his traction, you know. What is it the old Star Wars? They had these tractor beams who were some someone else some other force had you in their tractor beam and you couldn't get away.

God doesn't do it that way we choose but a person can so develop the mindset from living in the Word of God from thinking about the Word of God so often that he placing himself under the Word of God to the point where It's the way he thinks I'm gonna live my life today.

Seeking to do the will of God. Seeking to serve the kingdom of God and you it be what what happens is it? Becomes natural. It becomes your new nature. This is what the scripture Describes when it says if anyone is in Christ.

Becoming a New Creation in Christ

If you're really dwelling in Christ if you're living in the word in this way. You're dwelling in it. If anyone is living in Christ in this way. He is a new creation all things pass away. And all things become new.

So let's ask ourselves this question. We know that you that people can be in church their entire life and Not be a new creation. How do we explain that? They're regular visitors. They spend time a little bit of time with the word.

They're exposed to it a little bit. But it's never come the way they live. It's not become the way they think. It doesn't control their speech. It doesn't control their thoughts. It doesn't control their responses.

Now might they be a Christian. They may be. Maybe they're one of those that we talked about over the last several weeks. Maybe they are an infant. They were born again at some point. They had an encounter with the Lord and they became a Christian.

But they've just never grown. Because they don't they don't Have the Word of God in them. Like the person who is growing. Remember what we talked about last week that the key to growing up in your salvation is craving The pure spiritual milk of the word so that by it you may grow up see in God's Word.

The Word of God as Spiritual Nourishment

God's Word is fortified with all kinds of spiritual vitamins and minerals. Grace mercy peace kindness understanding wisdom self-control Humility all of these beautiful spiritual virtues or are impregnated in the Word of God and Just like a cereal That in in wheat itself or what other type of cereals are made of it doesn't have all The essential Nutrients and vitamins and minerals that you need so a cereal company can add those Elements those nutrients and those vitamins and those other essential things to the cereal.

And what do they say this cereal has been? Fortified. Fortified with these things meaning they have put the the Essential vitamins and minerals and nutrients into the cereal. This is what Paul talked about in Ephesians chapter 3.

He was praying for the Christian Church there that they would be Strengthened with power the word strengthened there. I like to describe as fortified with power. Because you need it. I Need to be fortified.

I Do not have strength in my natural self To just do the things that there would be pleasing to the Lord in every situation. I'm still human enough That if I was not being fortified I can get down in the mouth.

I can get critical. I can get ugly. I Can get mean ask my wife. I'm not saying I was this week. I'm not saying I was this year. I'm just saying she's lived with me and seen the difference in me without fortified being fortified.

And when I am being fortified with this beautiful spiritual graces That God can strengthen us with. She loves it. She does not mind at all when I'm being strengthened with gentleness and strengthened with kindness and Strengthened with lowliness and patience and Strengthened with love.

He doesn't mind it at all. It's something I seek. I'm not trying to earn my salvation. It's something that I realize. Fortified when we are being fortified with these spiritual races from the Word of God and the Spirit of God.

Working in it says we're seeking to live in them and we're seeking to get make sure that they become a very part of The way we live our lives. It's just beautiful the it. You know, it makes such a difference.

That the Bible says it's like a it's like a star Shining in the universe. It's just it's beautiful. Surrounded by darkness, but it's full of its own dynamic energy that is giving off natural light. This is the process I desire and the Lord desires for every single one of us.

Hearing, Meditating, and Applying the Word

That each of us grow how we grow we start listening very carefully. You listen You you focus and pay attention whenever the Word of God is there. Like during this time during a Sunday school even if during a conversation with the brother and it's a spiritual it's a spiritual conversation and there's help being offered by God you listening carefully and then you take what you hear and It and you spend extra time with it.

Remember we talked about that. Come meditation you chew on it again. You go over it again because you don't want it. You don't want to just visit with it. You want to make sure that the the spiritual nutrients and vitamins that are in that word?

Become deeply a part of the very way you live your life now. My brother Rudy, I love him dearly. Here's what he would tell you read read read read read read read read every day. We got it. But here's what I've learned.

The reason people don't do that is because they don't have a vision of what it is. They're looking for you didn't you don't realize that what Paul said the these words all Scripture has the very breath of God in it.

Hey, man, and You know what? The breath of God is it's the source of all spiritual nutrients. In the Spirit of God is his wisdom His kindness his goodness his gentleness His long-suffering his patience, it's all there in spirit.

It's spiritual food. It's spiritual life and it's spiritual power and Those that are fully Taking it in the old natural self that dominated appetite Natural desires and the things that come with it anger selfishness Irritation all those things in the natural.

As you become stronger and stronger fortified with spiritual things the old begins to pass away and New things become spiritual you begin to become strong in spirit and You begin to walk in the spirit.

Being Led and Strengthened by the Holy Spirit

You become sensitive to the things of the spirit. You begin to be led by the Spirit. Governed by the Spirit protected by the Spirit guided by the Spirit. You become spiritual. No longer an infant. Now you're understanding.

You're seeing things clearer. Your decisions are better. You don't fall into the same traps old habits are gone. You're slower to speak you're quicker to listen. And you're especially slower to become angry because you're being fortified.

You you develop an ability growing spiritually to begin to be able to Lay hold of things we sing that song today lay hold to lay hold the fact that God has Given us Everything we need for life and godliness.

This is from 2nd Peter chapter 1, but it's all through the New Testament in reality. It's all there. God has given us everything we need to live the kind of life He desires for us in Jesus Christ. It's all there already given.

You know how you know what, you know why many of us are not fully Taking advantage of that we don't know him well. Personally. We do not realize we here a lot of us know him as the person who died on the cross for us.

You got that. And no one should take that away. He was that you know him as a person born of the Virgin who lived in Palestine. Who had his ministry and was arrested and died for you and rose again, you know him in that way.

But you do not know him as the life-giving spirit who lives in you. So that he could be with you every single where you go. To help you in every single challenge you face. Giving you counsel giving you guidance.

Strengthening you living his life in you and with you. So that you can literally learn to draw from him every every bit of his strength. To support your weakness so that when you're when you're feeling tempted when you're battling some irritation.

When you're growing weary when you're in danger of caving in to something unkind or something. It will make a bad decision. You learn to walk with him. You draw from him. He's with you. He's not like he's some outer space someplace.

He's with you and he's not some you in some museum in a case. Some people some people live their Christian life and you know, Jesus is for them. Jesus is that person in heaven in that glass case and they just worship Jesus.

He is so wonderful. He was so perfect. He was so good. But in museums, there's one there's signs everywhere, what do the signs say don't touch. That's not Jesus. Jesus is literally God. Touchable for everything about God all of his goodness becomes tangible touchable usable to us.

Christ's Presence Through the Life-Giving Spirit

That's Jesus. That's why he told his disciples. Even though he says I go to prepare a place for you. This is strange. How can you go and prepare a place for us and then say at the same time lo I am with you.

Always how can he be there and be? Here how. Because now he's the life-giving spirit. Spirit is not limited by a physical body so now Jesus and the fullness of God. Every grace of God all the divine nature of God all that God desires you to experience.

All of his goodness is with you in the form of the Holy Spirit. Making every grace that's in Jesus Christ available to you. Every single moment of the day and that's what we need to grow up into. That's what we're seeking to understand now.

Resisting the Enemy's Distractions

Why wouldn't that be so easy? Why wouldn't that simple enough? Why why wouldn't that be easy for all of us? Because God has an enemy and If God is our father That enemy is our enemy and what do you think that enemies number one?

Purpose is going to be for us. Is it not going to be to prevent us? From coming to understand how much God has for us how much grace is available to us how much help there is and Don't you think he's going to come up with whatever strategy works for you if you're work if you're a workaholic it'll be Work.

If you're a yardaholic is going to be your yard, you know, if it if it's TV, it's going to whatever it is. He doesn't care. What? It's whatever works for him. What the purpose is to keep you and I from Discovering all the fullness of God that is in Jesus Christ.

That that's his purpose. Because as we discover that as you discover that Jesus Christ is with you and that his word His word is full of every spiritual nutrient and vitamin and key element that will dynamically strengthen and Fortify you to where you can live in a way that you are you're a new creation the old person Literally fades out of the picture and out of this old person comes this brand new dynamic Christ like Individual the same name but a completely different person.

That's the what the world doesn't see enough of the world sees people who Come here. But they look too much like the same person they were Everywhere else and that's not the intention. And somewhat that's the fault of church leadership.

Equipping the Saints for Spiritual Maturity

Because it says that God gave leadership in the church so that the body of Christ would be built up. For the equipping of the Saints. I want you to be equipped and you know what you're never. Here's what the equipment is never gonna be.

The equipment is never gonna be. I'm gonna be with you all the time. That's not gonna happen. Is it hadn't happened yet? It won't be. Can't have the pastor with you all the time. You can't have the Sunday school teacher all with you all the time.

Does it need to be you have the Lord Jesus Christ with you all the time? The equipping is to help you realize who all the things you do have. It's learning how to use What God has already given you it's learning what the equipment are.

The younger generation knows this more than the older generation. There are certain things that your phone has a capacity to do. But can't do unless you do something first you have to obtain something and You have to obtain a program.

So that that and that program will enable your phone to do something. You're desiring it to do. How many of us know what I'm talking about and can do that. Okay, some of you know they're using what do you do, where do you go?

You go to this thing called the app the App Store. Because someone has created something already Fully able to do what you're desiring and all you have to do is log on. Type in the name and do what? In Stall we take you into the greatest app that has ever been.

It's named the Lord Jesus Christ. He is God's app. That's what it is. All the fullness of the Godhead all of his divine attributes all of it all He's waiting for you to do is Install the Sun in you. Install him.

Hearing for Transformation

Let him live his life in you. Learn to let God's Holy Spirit do the dynamic work he desires to do and part of that very critical process is Hearing and the reason the reason hearing is involved. It's it's a very broad term.

It's how you give conscious thought. It's how you Listen so that you can think and here's what God wants. He wants you to hear. Listen carefully. Think about it and install. Install hold it take it in and then guard it.

Guard it. Keep it. When that process begins to take hold of a person transformation takes place. Paul described it in this way and I'll close with this Paul says to in Romans chapter 12. Do not be conformed any longer To the pattern of the world they the world operates on its program.

It's got a program it operates by it's a sinful evil spiritual program it operates by but instead don't be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be Transformed by what is the by be transformed by?

The renewing of your mind. In other words download all of God's Spiritual graces into the way you think and into your heart be Reprogrammed. Our our church is trying to brainwash people. Well, if you think your brains dirty don't you want to wash.

You know, if you think the world's gonna give you a clean brain you got a thing coming. Yes God's Word is Cleansing but the things it will cleanse you from. Are not the things that will take things from you the things that God's Word will cleanse you from or the things that are harming you or The things that are hindering you.