Being genuinely "Born Again" through the power of the Holy Spirit is instantaneous.
Immediately upon repentance of sin and receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior,
the right to be called a child of God is given, (Jn. 1:12). However, we are not
immediately mature! We've been birthed into the family of God, yes, but we've also
been birthed into a spiritual growth process in Christ. "The path of the righteous is
like the first gleam of dawn shining ever brighter till the first light of day", (Pr. 4:18).
Progressively we're being transformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ,
(1 Cor. 3:18). This is our New Life destiny and it will happen as we continue living
in a fervent love relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Until you understand God's saving process in your life there's the potential for
confusion and frustration to set in. At spiritual rebirth you were given new life in
your spirit. This was the instantaneous, and creative work of God. There is a new
person within your heart, in infant stage, nevertheless, brand new. This new life
from God is destined for spiritual growth and maturity! The human mind is a
totally different matter. It is not instantaneously "Born Again". God has chosen
the method of progressive transformation for the mind!
The pre-salvation human mind is an area of the human person that is very
strongly influenced by the powers of darkness. It is through the mind that Satan
accomplishes his sadistic work of sin and evil both in people and in the world.
The devil's work in the human mind is so effective that it actually separates the
unbeliever from God. Col 1:21 - This includes you who were once far away from
God. You were His enemies, separated from Him by your evil thoughts and
actions. In general the actions of sin are hatched in human thought life. I conclude
that this being the case then any salvation that God provides must not only affect
the human heart but also the human mind.
Eph 4:21-24 - Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the
truth that comes from Him, 22 throw off your old sinful nature and your
former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. 23 Instead,
let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. 24 Put on your new
nature, created to be like God-truly righteous and holy.
Rom 12:2 - Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God
transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.
Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing
and perfect.
There is a new spiritual life within the heart of every genuine "Born Again" Believer. This new life must be permitted to grow and mature, manifesting Christ-likeness in and through the Believer's life. This can only be accomplished as the human mind is renewed to think in the ways of God. This is accomplished through the reading of God's Word. The human mind is very similar to the hard drive of a computer. To upgrade or change the computer it is necessary for hard drive to be reprogrammed. This is done through rewriting the hard drive. A new program is written into the hard drive. The human mind of every Born Again Believe must be "reprogrammed" through the Word God. There are no short cuts! The more time you spend prayerfully reading God's Word, the more influence it will have on how you think and what you do.
You may very well experience some great battles for control of your mind; I've certainly had my share. This is an area of Christianity that I personally know very well. In the beginning of my walk with God I had a lot mind problems. My pre-salvation experience was one of very negative thinking and mild to medium paranoia. Wow, did I ever have problems thinking. I had been raised to believe that to be optimistic only left you open to disappointment. Being negative was a way of protecting yourself from discouragement. I soon discovered that this kind of thinking shutout any possibly of faith. I'm telling you this in hopes of encouraging you. God will change the way you think if you let Him. He will reprogram your mind so that you are able to both understand God and being thinking along the same lines as He does. Make no mistake! This is a must for every Believer.
I encourage you in Jesus name! If you are having problems in your thought life focus on conquering those thoughts one at a time. As you become aware of a certain thought or trend of thought that you understand to be causing spiritual problems then take it to Lord in prayer. Seek God direct help with regards to that specific area of your mind. Be specific! Continue praying and what ever you do, stay in the Word of God. What you'll find is that God will use His Holy Spirit empowered Word to wash your mind and fill it with His promises, His principles, His ways. He will inspire and encourage through His Word. Never forget that Jesus purchased salvation for you with His shed blood and it not only effects your heart but also your mind.
In conclusion I want to share with you the Scriptures the Lord used to start His miracle work of transformation in my personal thought life. I'll quote it from the Amplified Bible. 2Co 10:3-5 - For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, 5 [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One),
Mind transformation doesn't happen overnight, it takes time but progressively you will gain more and more victory and as I suggested it may be one little step at a time but it will happen. I'll also mention here as well that God has often helped me in stages. By that I mean, my victory over a certain trends of thinks has been progressive or by degrees and not always all at once. I might gain a certain degree of victory over thinking that people hate me and it's kind of like a baby learning to walk, I might fall down from time to time but eventually I become very strong in that area of my thought life, to the point were eventually I'm not troubled by that kind of thinking any more. There's hope in Christ! Be encouraged in Jesus name.
A renewed thought life is not going to "just happen", nor are you going to receive instant mind renewal. It requires disciplined reading of God's Word as well as the determination to think according to the Word. God has given you the spiritual power to control your thought life. This is vital for you to understand. Prior to salvation the human mind, yours included is dominated by the powers of darkness. As a "Born Again" Believer you have received from the Lord His supernatural power of self control.
2 Tim. 1:7 - For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. For anyone with mind problems this is a great encouragement.
God is so gracious to us that He even instructs us in the kind of things we should be thinking about.
Ph. 4:8 - And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your
thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely,
and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.
Col 3:1,2 - Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights
on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God's right
hand. 2 Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
I've already said it but it's worth repeating. To experience the blessing of a renewed mind requires personal involvement. God will not think for you. This is something He has chosen to leave in our Ball Park. He give His grace and power but we must choose to exercise disciplined thinking. When we become aware that our thinking is contrary to God's will then we need to change that! We must choose to think thoughts that are in agreement to God's Word. This is one reason it's so important to be in God's Word on a regular basis. Until we know the truths and promises of God's Word the enemy can be allowed to play his ruthless mind games with us.
I want to encourage you not to fool around with thoughts that are contrary to your knowledge of God's Word. Thoughts that are contrary to truth MUST be understood to be spiritual enemies. They must be dealt with now. You need to learn to exercise your spiritual authority over these evil thoughts bringing them into captivity and allowing your mind to think only as Jesus would think. Step by step you will gain the victory and will enjoy the freedom of "Kingdom thinking" as you apply the necessary spiritual disciplines. God bless you in your journey to Christ-likeness.
.
