Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of Scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
When I was in High School, a fellow classmate of mine stopped over at the house to visit me. It was a hot summer afternoon, so we sat down on the picnic table and had an nice cold glass of lemonade. His family had a cabin not too far away, so he had driven over on his three-wheeler. I had never seen one before, much less ridden one, but I asked him if I could take it for a short ride. He said that was fine and threw me the key. A few minutes later after pulling the ripcord, I peeled out of the driveway, but I didn’t get very far. I only got about a hundred feet down the road when I drove into the ditch and hit a big tree, but luckily neither I nor the machine got hurt. If you have ever driven one before, three wheelers were completely different to steer. Unlike a motorbike that leans into the corners, a three-wheeler will stay level because of the rear tires. Because of this, the steering was completely different, and you needed to learn how to steer in the opposite direction.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
To become followers of Christ, we must do the same thing. We must learn how to do something different than what we have become accustomed to. It’s not like riding a bike, and it takes practice to learn how to steer in the opposite direction.
“And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” Romans 12:2
In order to walk in the perfect will of God, we must learn a new way which is found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Each of us have been trained since our youth to believe and accept, that everything going on around us is situation normal. We have been educated by the world, behaved like the world, and lived like the world. We became followers of those who really didn’t believe in biblical truth. But when we become a Christian, we need to empty our minds of everything that we have learned, so that we can fill it back up with the things of God.
“And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;” Ephesians 4:23
When I first became a believer in Jesus, I had to learn to do something in my life that I absolutely hated. I loathed it so much that in my flesh, there was no way that you would ever get me to do it. I had other aspirations for my life and more important things to do. But when I believed the gospel of Christ, I knew that I was going to have to learn to do the thing that went completely against my will. I needed to learn how to teach others. Many people teach because it is something that their parents did, or maybe it is something that they always wanted to do, but that’s not the case with me. God wanted me to teach others, and in order to do that, it required submitting to His will rather than my own, and learning how to steer in a completely different direction.
“……put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:” Colossians 3:10
In order to transform from a sinner into a saint, your mind has to change from your past to your fate. It is to completely let go of all that you have previously learned, and opening up your heart to the knowledge of God’s will. After all, if you wanted to become a mechanic, you might take some classes at the local Vo-Tech. If you wanted to become a lawyer, you would probably go off to college somewhere. Everything we want to know about God is found in the teachings of the King James Bible, and to become like Him, we must learn more about Him. But unlike learning an Earthly trade, those who seek to follow Christ cannot incorporate the things of our past, with the things that are Spiritual. Neither can we mix the natural man with the divine. To perform the perfect will of God requires rejecting everything you once were, for everything that He wants you to become. It is turning away from the darkness, and learning to walk in His light. It is turning away from the carnal mind, and replacing it with the mind of Christ. It is only in this manner that salvation can eventually be achieved, as the old man is cast away, and the new man takes His place.
Romans 8 ¹² Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. ¹³ For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. ¹⁴ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
To become Spiritual, one must reject the things of this world and follow the Spirit of God, yet many people profess to be a Christian and choose to live as the world does. In that very act, there is no separation between the holy and the profane. There is no division between what is right and what is wrong. There is no transformation from the sinner to the saint. It’s simply a people who will not let go of the world, making a half-hearted attempt at something, that will require a full-hearted effort to obtain.
Revelation 3 ¹⁵ I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. ¹⁶ So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
To begin on the narrow path, we must first exit the wide road. To obtain the things of the Spirit, we must first reject the things of the flesh. To enter the world that is coming, we must first leave the things of this place.
1 John 2 ¹⁵ Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
¹⁷ And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Growing up in this world, we have learned to do things a certain way, and we have become so accustomed to them, that they becomes second nature to us. But in order to obtain eternal life, we need to become partakers of the divine nature. This means that we must let go of all the teachings of this world, and reach out for the doctrines of Christ. To truly love Him from our hearts, requires that we do this.
Some of you may have grown up on motorbikes, but the Christian life is about learning how to drive in a different direction. As I found out, it’s different from riding a bike, and it’s going to take some practice, if you’re going to learn how to ride….
…. The Three Wheeler
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
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