Shabbat shalom kol beit Yisra'el and Mishpachah and welcome to the twelfth part of our series on spiritual transformation. Last week we looked at the centrally integrated mind and how that is only possible in Christ through self-surrender to His will. Furthermore, in order to succeed, we need to think purposefully, creatively and affirmatively.

Today I'd like to ask you to join with me in turning to a by now familiar passage, I hope, Philippians, the 4th chapter and beginning with verse 4. Our emphasis will be on the last or 13th verse - I'll be using a messianised New King James Version (NKJV) throughout our readings unless I say otherwise:

"Rejoice in the Master (Lord) always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Master is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to Elohim (God); and the shalom (peace) of Elohim (God), which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Messiah Yah'shua (Christ Jesus).

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy -- meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me (Paul), these do, and the Elohim (God) of shalom (peace) will be with you.

"But I rejoiced in the Master (Lord) greatly that now at last your care for me has flourished again; though you surely did care, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil.4:4-13, NKJV).

In this passage with which we are beginning our study today, the apostle asks us to keep in mind "whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report" or as a couple of other translations ably put it, "the true, the worthy, the just, the pure, the attractive, the high-toned, the excellent and the meritorious", or "true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honourable" (GNB). No wonder Paul finishes by saying that the Elohim (God) of shalom (people) will be with us. Now he could have said, "keep in mind the critical, the negative, the unlovely, the impure, the obscene - and the devils of conflict will be with you" but he doesn't.

And the reason he doesn't is well illustrated by this true story which I think probably applies to all of us at different times. Many years ago, a British woman was travelling in the foothills northern India for the very first time. She went to bed at night, anxious, with the thought of tigers and leopards in her mind, in the same way I used to growing up in Malaysia next to a jungle only there I was more worried that a dangerous snake might come into my bedroom, which was by no means impossible. Indeed, my father once went to sleep with a snake under his pillow and never knew it until the morning when he picked up his pillow to straightenen it up. Thank goodness it was a harmless grass snake! My uncle and namesake in Ceylon, as it was then called (now Sri Lanka), was not so fortunate, and had a direct confrontation with a cobra! Anyway, during the middle of the night, this lady who was travelling through the foothills of the Himalayas, awoke with a start to see two eyes glowing at her on the other side of the room. Well, she understandably started shrieking which brought her friends running in to her room only to discover that the two glowing eyes were nothing more than glowworms.

The predominantly negative person is, alas, always turning glowworms into tigers. The Christian/Messianic position is found in Paul's letter to the Romans:

"...put on the Master Yah'shua the Messiah (Lord Jesus Christ), and make no provision for the flesh" (Rom.13:14, NKJV)

"Let the Master Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) be as near to you as the clothes you wear. Then you won't try to satisfy your selfish desire" (CEV).

Now this lady was new to India so I think we can all understand her nervousness to some extent. I was born and raised in the tropics and I had seen or heard about snakes killing animals, including our pet cats, and on one occasion, I saw a python that had killed itself swallowing a calf. Such things leave an impression. However, no snake ever got into my room and none of us were ever bitten, praise Yah. The point of Paul's admonition was, in other words, that we should make no provision in our thinking for the flesh to get the upper hand. If you think you will fall - you will. You have already fallen in thought. Expect victory, and you will have victory. Expect defeat and you will have defeat, for you are already defeated in mind. In 'putting on' Yah'shua (Jesus), affirming His affirmations (and by that, I mean, his assertions of truth as the unchangeable Truth-Teller) - in living in His strength and power, you affirm Affirmation itself, promising yourself what He promises you, and realising true as opposed to imaginary Reality. We must deal with reality always but trust Yah'shua's (Jesus') promises when it comes to solving the problems that reality makes apparent. And we must start, therefore, with right-mindedness.

We can see, then, that what we do with our mind is critically important to our overall well-being. We are not talking about fantasising or 'naming and claiming' something that we have not been specifically promised. We are affirming - declaring to be true - what Yah'shua (Jesus) actually has promised if we are walking within His will which includes, of course, choosing to, and actively, living His mitzvot (commandments). His promises are nullified if we choose to walk in lawlessness and rebellion. There is always that underlying assumption in every divine promise. And even if we are walking in the Torah as we should, it does not mean that everything lawful is necessarily right for us. Therefore we must walk in His will for our personal lives.

The second passage of scripture I would like to examine in connection with today's theme is in the 2nd chapter of Philippians, beginning at the first verse, with the emphasis on the 5th verse:

"Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Ruach (Spirit), if any affection and chesed (mercy), fulfill my simcha (joy) by being like-minded, having the same ahavah/agapé-love, being of one accord (united), of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Messiah Yah'shua (Christ Jesus), who, being in the form of Elohim (God), did not consider it robbery to be equal with Elohim (God), but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore Elohim (God) also has highly exalted Him and given Him the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Yah'shua (Jesus) every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth (in Hades), and that every tongue should confess that Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ) is Master (Lord, Sovereign), to the glory of Elohim (God) the Father" (Phil.2:1-11, NKJV).

I like the translation of verse 5 in Today's Living Bible: "Your attitude should be the kind that was shown us by Yah'shua the Messiah (Jesus Christ)" (v.5, TLB) because I think sceptics are only to willing to misread or twist this verse to mean that as believers we are merely engaging in autosuggestion, or worse, self-brainwashing, when in fact what Paul is saying here is far deeper than autosuggestion. In autosuggestion, we can suggest things to ourselves that may not be in accordance with the facts of the universe (like flatearthism), but when we affirm what we know Yahweh wishes for us because it is truth-based, then our thinking has His cosmic backing.

So I would like to suggest five positive steps that will help us move forwards and toward a more affirmative lifestyle:

• 1. Stand off from your life and decide what kind of person you are. Which way do you view life? Positively or negatively? Do you look out through the eyes of slavish fear or through eyes of emunah (faith)? Are you a pessimist or an optimist?

• 2. Surrender your negative attitudes to Yahweh. Don't spit on both hands and say, 'I'm going to fight this negative attitude will all that I have' because that will make you tense and strained, and you'll just end up fighting yourself with no hope of winning. Ask Him to take it over - with your consent and cooperation, of course;

• 3. Now decide to be Yahweh's 'Yes-man' or 'Yes-woman'. Accept Yahweh's resources and begin to live on His 'Yes'. Say 'Yes' to His 'Yes'. Realise that that all the Father accomplished through Yah'shua (Jesus), He wants to accomplish through you. And the same power that was available to Him is available to you;

• 4. Go over your vocabulary and prune all your negative thoughts and phrases. Now, you will need to ask Yahweh to accomplish this, as negative words and phrases become grooved in your mind. But once the basic attitude is reversed, and you become a 'Yes' person instead of a 'No' person, then they will drop off like leaves in the autumn (fall) wind; and finally,

• 5. Spend time in prayer, and the reading of the Scriptures so as to expose yourself to Elohim's (God's) 'Yes's'. In meditating upon the Davar (Word), gather up those marvellous statements and verses similar to Romans 12:2 which says, "do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of Elohim (God)" (Rom.12:2, NKJV). Use these verses, and let them drop into your mind hour by hour, until they become your habitual thoughts.

Remember also that Yahweh has not only spoken His Davar (Word) in the printed pages of your Bible. Yes, He absolutely speaks through it still but our creative Elohim (God) still creates, and, from His Davar (Word), He will bring forth "treasures new and old" (Mt.13:52). Trust in personal revelation to yourself, making sure it it is in harmony with the Bible, and take care to distinguish between general revelation in Scripture which is applicable to everyone and person-specific revelation. Don't make the mistake of a lot of Pentecostals, Charismatics and others who assume that because Yahweh spoke something to an historical person that that applies to all believers unconditionally in every age. He doesn't give everyone the power to divide a body of water or to march round a city and generate an earthquake to knock down its walls. Which is not to say He can't, or doesn't, do spectacular miracles, but they tend to be infrequent, situation-specific and for a special witness. So learn to properly divide or interpret the Davar (Word). That takes careful, prayerful research, which means expending effort and time. It's one of the reasons I have created this ministry's website.

The whole purpose of having a renewed mind is so that "we might be able to to make out what the will of Elohim (God) is" (Rom.12:2, Moffatt). That is one of the central purposes of transformation while we are here on earth as mortals - to enable us to link our mind with the mind of our Heavenly Father, Yahweh-Elohim. When your mind and Yahweh's mind come together, then everything, both in heaven and on earth, fall into place. You will then discover that the will of Elohim (God) is 'good' - good for you, good for me, good for us all. It is 'acceptable' for indeed life recognises that this is the purpose for which it is made. It is 'perfect' too because it is Yahweh's goal for everything. That's all a part of Yah'shua's (Jesus') mitzvah (commandment) wherein He said, "...be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect" (Matt.5:48, NKJV).

The steps are quite simple. We soak our minds in Scripture so that we learn to think as Elohim (God) thinks. We discover, as we do this, that thinking Elohim's (God's) thoughts after Him leads us to do His will, and doing His will is the purpose for which we were made. His will is 'good' for us. And the 'good' is confirmed in the universe all around, and then, as we become echad (one) with Him through this progressive inner transformation, life, no matter the outward circumstances, turns out to be perfect, because perfection is begins within. An artists doesn't create a masterpiece unless some part of his inner person hasn't already been perfected for the task. What could be better - more perfect - than being linked to the Creator of all and walking in the stream of eternity?

Let's pray: 'Dear Father Yahweh, I 'put You on' today as You have commanded me, and from now on I will make no provision for defeat, since You have provided only for my victory. I believe, because you have said it, that as I make your attitude that was shown us by Your Son, my own attitude, that I will begin to feel the changes beginning in me. Even now, as I yield to You, You are bringing me in line with Your creative purposes and Your positive plan for my life. They are at work within me now, for which I am grateful beyond words. As we leave this subject of the transformed mind, and next week enter into the realm of the emotions and feelings, help me to have a truly renewed mind, and in so doing learn to walk in Your perfect will for my life. I thank you for this ongoing work in me, help me break new ground at this time, in Yah'shua's (Jesus') Name. Amen.'

In the next two sabbath assemblies we will therefore take a close look at our emotional life and consider what that is supposed to look like and how Yahweh can transform it. It obeys a different, though overlapping, set of rules to the mind because it has its own separate intelligence. So until then, may Yahweh bless and prosper you as you commit yourself to realigning your thoughts with His by yielding to Him and letting Him take control, is my hope and prayer in Yah'shua's (Jesus') Name. Amen.

Acknowledgments

[1] Selwyn Hughes, Every Day With Jesus: The Transformed Life (Crusade for World Revival, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, UK: 1979)

Comments from Readers

[1] "I am recommending this [sermon] to one Frenchmen here..." (CCS, Malaysia, 30 August 2021)