Bill Basansky - Renewing The Mind Through The Word

RENEWING THE MIND

THROUGH THE WORD

by

Bill Basansky

BEST SELLER A STUDY ON THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND BOOK III OF A THREE-PART SERIES (over 70,000 in print)

Contents

Chapter I

Chapter II

Chapter III

Chapter IV

Chapter V

Chapter VI

Chapter VII

Chapter VIII

Chapter IX

Chapter X

I

Inferiority Complex

It is my desire to challenge and awaken every Christian to ask himself this question, "Is my mind renewed in the Word of God?"

I am not asking you whether you are Spirit filled, but I am asking you, "Is your mind renewed in the Word?"

Do you have any symptoms of an unrenewed mind?

I am going to discuss (in this booklet) several symptoms of the unrenewed mind in a Christian. As you study these symptoms and learn how to resolve them in your Christian walk, you will live a more victorious life.

Jesus has promised every believer a victorious life who recognizes undesirable symptoms in his life, humbles himself before God and asks to be made free.

To be a mature Christian it is very important for an individual to understand and recognize symptoms of an unrenewed mind. Having recognized undesirable symptoms in your life you must RENOUNCE them and not fellowship with them. (Don't give in to them.) Then renew your mind by CONFESSING what the Word of God says you are in Christ Jesus. I Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new," and 5:21, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

The first symptom on an unrenewed Christian mind that we will discuss, is the inferiority complex, or a feeling of unworthiness.

Many Christians say, "Well, I don't FEEL WORTHY, and I am AFRAID."

If you are a born again Christian, redeemed by the blood of Jesus, and being made the righteousness of God, then fear, unworthiness, and an inferiority complex should no longer be a part of your Christian life. The Word says that fear does not come from God. "For God hath not given you the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" II Timothy 1:7.

If you have fear to make decisions and step out for God, then, you have an inferiority complex, which is a symptom of an unrenewed mind.

To say, "Well, I don't think I could do that, I don't know how," or "I am embarrassed," does not mean that you are not saved or Spirit filled. It does mean that your mind needs to be renewed with the Word of God.

I can understand how you feel when you say, "I can't do it," but I cannot agree with you, for the Word says that we can do ALL THINGS through Christ who strengthens us.

So when your mind tells you to say, "I can't," or "I'm not worthy," that is the moment you should say out loud, "I CAN DO ALL THINGS ...," then you will possess exactly what you say.

The Bible says that Jesus is loved, by the Father equally, with you and me. "I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou bast loved me (John 17:23). God the Father loves you as much as He loves Jesus. And if God loves you as much as He loves Jesus, then the power that He gave to Jesus, He also gave to you. Jesus could raise the dead and so can you. That's right, YOU! Because the Bible says,

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that believeth on Me , the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father" (John 14:12).

We should not take this statement lightly, but believe the Word and then practice DOING and CONFESSING what God said we can do, for God does not lie. Numbers 23:19: "For God is not a man that He should lie ..."

II

Inability To Concentrate

Another symptom of the unrenewed mind is the inability to concentrate. Are you unable to read the Word of God without falling asleep?

Please understand, this is not a sign that you are not saved. However, it is a sign that your mind needs to be dealt with by the Word of God.

You say, "I can't stay awake."

How many times have you desired to read the Word? You plan to take a shower, or a bath, turn your night light on, go to bed and read your Bible. You had very good intentions to do that. But what happens when you get into bed?

You really meant to "study and show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" (II Timothy 2:15). The first thing you knew, you woke up in the night, or the next morning, and to your surprise you found your Bible on the floor. All of a sudden, when you started to read your Bible, a sleep that you could not control came upon you. You just had to go to sleep.

Have you had that problem? Do you know what I'm talking about?

If you do have the problem, then you need to renew your mind through the Word of God.

You see, I know these things because I have experienced them also. I am trying to tell you that when you start to read your Bible, "... then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts" (Luke 8:12). The devil will use every trick that he knows to take the Word out of your heart and keep you from receiving the truth.

He will succeed unless you learn how to come against him.

You are going to have to say, "Devil, I know you. I take authority over you! I command you in the Name of Jesus, to depart from me."

You have to command (say) to your mind and your thoughts to "stay awake, be alert and attentive to the Word."

I know it's real! It works for me, and it will work for you, too, if you understand what to do about it. When you take authority over Satan, and you command him to leave in the name of Jesus, he has to go and your mind will be at peace.

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee" (Isaiah 26:3).

III

The Spirit Of Condemnation

When you as a Christianeven a Spirit filled Christian

recognize some of the symptoms of an unrenewed mind, you should not run away from them or be condemned by them. You need to come and ask Jesus to deliver you and cleanse you with His blood. The Bible says in Romans 8:1, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus..." If you are a child of God, don't listen to the condemnation.

Condemnation is another symptom of the unrenewed mind.

How can a Christian know if it is God talking to him, or if it is the devil condemning him?

Does God condemn? Of course not!

First of allwe read in the above scripture, "there is now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." If you are a born again believer, then you have the wisdom of Christ Jesus in you, and you will know that it is not God condemning you. It is the other spirit that we call the devil. God does not condemn.

If you do something wrong, don't run away from God. Run to God. The Spirit of God will gently show you that you were wrong, and He will lead you to repentance. You will then know that it was wrong and there is now no condemnation, because you repent, and God says that you are forgiven. You are washed in the blood of Jesus Christ. That's the difference. The Spirit of God does not condemn you. He points out the things wrong in your life, but He brings no condemnation with it.

The spirit of the devil brings condemnation, loneliness, oppression and rejection in your mind. The way to be free from the attack of the devil is to know who you are in Christ and what authority He has delegated to you.

You are to resist all temptations and symptoms with the Word of God, regardless of how you feel or what you see, and the devil will depart from you, just like he departed from Jesus.