This study was first taught on December 22, 2010

Topic: Possessions, Money, and Life (3): The Believer’s Mind

No audio available for this study.

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Background
Last week, our study challenged us to critically review what we focus on or what we are preoccupied with in our hearts. We noted that what a man’s heart is preoccupied with is a very good indicator of where his treasure is stored up (either in heaven or on earth); and determines whether he will receive eternal life or eternal damnation.

We saw that where you will spend eternity is determined not necessarily by how much you possess, but by your affections (or the preoccupation of your heart). We saw that even though an individual is in church, his affections or heart can be in the world; just like an individual may be heavily occupied with affairs of State, but can nonetheless be highly affectionate towards God. The indices for testing whether a person’s affections, devotion, and preoccupations are God-ward, and thus heavenly, include; whether or not they are concerned mostly for heavenly things; their response to the issue of money; their willingness to give up things for God; what they are busy accumulating; the state of their relationship with God; what their deepest desires are; what they discuss when with the brethren; whom they really are serving (God or Mammon); and where their affections truly do lie.

So, we asked, where is your heart (with God or in the world)? Are you doing the will of God, or are you just mouthing “Thy will be done”? Are you really preparing for eternity in heaven or in hell? We noted that the reward for those whose hearts are God-ward is not just life in eternity; but also include rewards here on earth, which never trip-up the recipient nor lead him astray.

Scripture Text(s)
Matthew 6:22-23; Luke 11:33-36
Tonight, our texts bring us to the realization of the significance of a person’s mind and what that can do to his life. These texts reveal that just like the human body is lighted through a healthy eye, the believer’s life is lighted through his mind. We pray that the Holy Spirit will teach us and enable us to have the right state of mind, so that the fullness of the life of God can be ours, in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Every time the Lord uses a parable, it is to provide us with spiritual truth using earthly phenomena. Using what we can appreciate, we can say that the Lord is saying that, when light is introduced to an object, it would either allow that light through completely, partially, or not at all. And what makes light able to pass through an object or not is dependent on whether it is transparent, translucent, or opaque. A transparent object permits all the light to pass through it; a translucent object permits only a proportion of light, while an opaque object does not allow light through at all. An individual’s mind is similar: it could allow all of God’s light through, or only a proportion of God’s light, or none at all.
Matthew 5:14; John 9:5; 1:9, 4-5; Ephesians 5:13; Psalm 19:8; Proverbs 15:30 (AMP); Psalm 36:9; 34:5; 119:130; Matthew 13:13-15, 18-23; Jeremiah 17:9-10; Revelation 3:17-18; John 9: 39-41; 3:17-21; 2 Timothy 4:2-4; Matthew 15:14; James 1:8; 4:4; Revelations 3:16; 1 Kings 18:21; Isaiah 29:13; James 4:8; Romans 12:2; Ephesians 4:22-24; 2 Peter 1:5-9; 2 Corinthians 3:13-18; Luke 15:11-32; Mark 5:1-20.

Conclusion
The Lord Jesus was the light of the world, while He was physically here on earth; but having gone back to heaven, He now lights the world through those who truly believe in Him. The Christian is therefore the light of the world, only because Jesus Christ has lighted him. It is thus a cause for concern when those who should be lighting up the world are not doing so. Obviously, something is terribly wrong. It is either these people who should be lighting the world are not receiving light at all from the Source, or they are unable to receive light, and therefore, unable to give it.

The light that Jesus Christ gives us is His life, His word, and His countenance upon the Christian. These give us revelation, illumination, and direction; which then enable us to provide leadership and enlighten this dark world. When we are unable to do what the Lord requires of us (i.e., give light to the world), there is a problem: the blind leading the blind!

Many are completely in darkness, for they are enclosed by false doctrines, and have closed their minds to truth. Others are double-minded, and never receive the light of God. Others still are carnal and unable to receive spiritual truth (1 Corinthians 2:12-14). But when they come to their senses, turn and draw near to God, and allow the Holy Spirit to have His way in them, every veil of pretence, falsehood, wickedness, tradition, jealously, worldliness, carnality, and hypocrisy, is stripped off. This allows the Christian to live in the glorious liberty of God, and to be changed from glory to glory. It is in such a state that we can truly light up the world, and enjoy the fullness of all that God has for us here on earth (Psalm 16:11).

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