RENEWING THE MIND - The Sequel

As I was finishing the last article on renewing the mind, I realized that I had several more thoughts that I really wanted to share, so we’ll call this the sequel. (Sequels are never as good as the original, at least in the movies, but are enjoyable anyway.)

It suddenly dawned on me when writing about the renewing power of the Holy Spirit and the Word that there is one very similar method they both use. In contrast to our personal endeavors at renewal, both the Word and the Holy Spirit work from the inside. The Holy Spirit comes to dwell in us at salvation and does His work as a guest in our temple. The inside-out working of the Word is the reason the Psalmist said, “Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11). When Joshua was preparing to take over for Moses, God’s instructions to him were, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night…” (Joshua 1:8a). God was instructing Joshua to get the Word in him, to literally ingest the Word, and fill his mind (meditation) with the Word.

There is one other huge area that I didn’t have time for in the last article. (And thanks, by the way, for the comments. I’m always glad to know that somebody is getting something out of the articles.) In the last post, I didn’t talk at all about the place of worship in the renewal process.

One of the men who has deeply impacted my life is Dr. Jack Hayford. Our family began attending The Church on The Way in Van Nuys, CA in 1977 and we were members and very active there for nearly 14 years. We still refer to Dr. Hayford as Pastor Jack because of the deep and lasting impact his ministry had on us. One of the great areas of teaching that Pastor Jack opened up to us was the place, the power, and the purpose of worship. Much of what I will refer to in this brief article I learned sitting under the teaching of this pastor and friend.

Ephesians 5:18-20 is a key passage in my understanding of the importance and power of worship in my life. “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” (NIV).

Verse 18 instructs us to be filled with God’s Spirit. Being filled with the Spirit is not a one-time happening but is a continual filling, a continual activation of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. The original language here is “be being filled,” indicating an ongoing receiving and activation of the Holy Spirit.

Verses 19 and 20 tell us how to fulfill the directive of the previous verse by worshipful singing and giving thanks to God in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. What part does worship play in your devotional time? Do you stop and worship or do you just listen to Christian music? Real worship is participatory!
It is through our worship that God’s power is released and the Holy Spirit is freed to work in our lives.

It was out of a worship service that the church was birthed. Carefully read Acts 2:1-13 and especially note verse 11. The crowd that gathered because of the commotion of the Pentecostal outpouring (the birthing of the church) was amazed and awed as they heard the Christians worshipping God in the languages of their native countries. Birthing is the bringing forth of new life and is accompanied by worship of the Creator. If you are looking to God to birth some new life and new breakthroughs in you, then it’s time for worship.

Throughout Scripture whenever the church was at prayer or in worship, there was a tremendous release of divine power. In Acts 16 Paul and Silas were imprisoned in Philippi. After being beaten, they were thrown into a dungeon and their feet were locked into restraints.

“But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed” (Acts 16:25-26).

“Where God’s presence is, there will be power. Where worship is released, God’s presence will abide. Our hearts are the ground on which the battle is decided. If we will worship, God’s power and rule will be established in and through us to flow to others.” Pastor Jack Hayford