Bishop Drew preached a message today titled, “Dominant Mind” and can be seen here.
It is basically about what nature are you going to follow, listen to, be lead by. Bishop Drew brought up the verses of John 3:1-8 when Nicodemus when to visit Jesus at night. I think the Spirit of God, drew him to inquire of Jesus “who was He,” a thing I believe God does with everyone at points in their life. Jesus brought it straight to the heart of every humans problem. Our body, the flesh has been born through physical child birth but the deeper things of the Spirit of God can only be understood by a “God Birth Spirit” in us.
3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Bishop Drew’s message goes beyond the “seeing the kingdom” stage. Bishop Drew says after seeing you must enter in. And once in, it’s a matter of being led by the Spirit as it says in Romans 8 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Nicodemus had the same problem every human has. Carnal minds don’t understand the things of the Spirit of God so he asks the same question every carnal thinking human asks,
4 Nicodemus said to Him, “How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?”
Jesus breaks it down in simple terms, NOT in a parable the way he often taught, but in a way that a child should be able to grasp.
5 Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.7 Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
The following are my thoughts about what Bishop Drew’s message. They are NOT his message. We are all born with a carnal nature and it’s necessary up to a point. Our carnal mind or the flesh will certainly take care of “the flesh” when thinking of I’m hot/cold, hungry/full, tired/pumped up and all those things concerning taking care of the “flesh.” Our “carnal nature” without a sense of conscience for right/wrong would make us no different than wild animals.
Taking care of the “flesh” is about self preservation, Not only the physical health but our appearance to others around us. We have a “reputation” to uphold and that in a large way is determined by what others think of us. Some people get obsessed with how many “likes” they have or “followers” to measure their self worth or determine the size of their ego. Nicodemus is NO Different. He knows the scriptures about God’s Spirit and he knows he’s getting into a sticking situation and plays dumb but Jesus calls him out on it.
9 Nicodemus answered and said to Him, “How can these things be?”
10 Jesus answered and said to him, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things? 11 Most assuredly, I say to you, We speak what We know and testify what We have seen, and you do not receive Our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Jesus calls out Nicodemus, “Are you the teacher of Israel, and do not know these things?
Nicodemus is Not the average Israelite, he is a “teacher” probably a Rabbi. As Bishop Drew put it, Nicodemus probably has some doctorates and masters degrees under his belt. And that is the reason he comes to Jesus at night, not in the open to be seen by his peers.
Nicodemus has the same problem EVERY person has and that is to accept everything Jesus spoke in the verses of John 3:5-21 out in the open. If you openly profess Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came down from Heaven to be born on earth as a normal man. To live a perfect, sinless life so that His Precious Blood could be shed for the “Final Atonement of Sin” EVERY SIN, and that He arose from the grave and ascended to Heaven and is seated on the right hand of our Heavenly Father, EVER Interceding as our High Priest. You might lose a few, maybe A LOT of “likes and followers.”
In my opinion there are three causes of this problem, Spiritual blindness and Pride. The 3rd, I’ll save for last. The Apostle Paul who suffered at one time from spiritual blindness, pride and by the Grace of God physical blindness confirms this in his writings.
Acts 23 6 But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!”
Israel’s Rejection Not Total
Romans 11 1 I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew.
7 What then? Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded. 8 Just as it is written:
“God has given them a spirit of stupor,
Eyes that they should not see
And ears that they should not hear,
To this very day.”
9 And David says:
“Let their table become a snare and a trap,
A stumbling block and a recompense to them.
10 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see,
And bow down their back always.”
11 I say then, have they stumbled that they should fall? Certainly not! But through their fall, to provoke them to jealousy, salvation has come to the Gentiles. 12 Now if their fall is riches for the world, and their failure riches for the Gentiles, how much more their fullness!
13 For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry, 14 if by any means I may provoke to jealousy those who are my flesh and save some of them. 15 For if their being cast away is the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?
God did something Supernatural in Paul’s life by blinding him so that he could see. God may not do that or anything that drastic in your life if you truly seek to know Him but He will do something that will allow you to know He IS Who He says He IS if you are doing it with a sincere heart.
What are we to think about Nicodemus? Did he swallow his pride, not worry about how many “likes” or who’s approval on Earth he would lose to be “Born Again with God’s Spirit?” We aren’t told exactly but there is hope for Nicodemus found in the only place that matters, Holy Scripture,
John Chapter 19 – Jesus Buried in Joseph’s Tomb
38 After this, Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly, for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took the body of Jesus. 39 And Nicodemus, who at first came to Jesus by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds. 40 Then they took the body of Jesus, and bound it in strips of linen with the spices, as the custom of the Jews is to bury. 41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So there they laid Jesus, because of the Jews’ Preparation Day, for the tomb was nearby.
Nicodemus did swallow at least some of his pride and probably not being a young man, put out some physical effort to his faith to show that Jesus had a profound impact on his life. If not before the death of Jesus, maybe after Jesus’ Resurrection, Nicodemus became a “Born Again with God’s Spirit” believer.
During worship service I had these thoughts. Man has never known what to do for a proper relationship with God without the help of God. In the garden of Eden, after sin occurred, God came in and killed an innocent animal, shedding it’s innocent blood to “cover” their sin.
Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. Our culture doesn’t know what it was to separate a choice animal, bring it to a priest, put your hand on it’s head and kill it yourself to shed it’s blood to cover your sins for a year. If nothing else, it at least should have made you think, that should have been my blood for my sin.
At times God has placed His Spirit upon people He chose to use for His purpose as it says of Saul and Caleb. I think these and many others were a foreshadow of things to come.
1 Samuel 10 6 Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man.
Numbers 14 24 But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.
Isaiah 61:1 “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
Today we can be “Born Again with God’s Spirit” in us but everyday we get to choose what spirit we will listen to and allow to be the “Dominate Mind.” On this side of eternity we will have the “Old Man,” the carnal mind and the “Mind of Christ” if we are Born Again. Peer pressure, daily duties, the cares of life don’t just disappear because you made the right decision one day. Actually things in life may get harder. You’ll probably be misunderstood, rejected and ridiculed by some people that are important to you.
As we sang the song, Soul On Fire, I was praying, Father stir up your Spirit in me, fan the flames of Your Holy Spirit in me. Sometimes we are told that God showed that He had accepted the animal sacrifice by His Holy Fire falling from Heaven to consume it. Bishop Drew touched on those two thoughts in his message. Indecision on our part will hinder the work of the Holy Spirit in us.
1 Kings 18 21 And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word.
But if we put our life in order as best as we know how, sell out with ALL our heart, mind and strength to seek God He WILL allow us to see evidence that we are being lead by His Spirit and at times a Fire Will Burn within us for God.
31 And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Israel shall be your name.” 32 Then with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord; and he made a trench around the altar large enough to hold two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order, cut the bull in pieces, and laid it on the wood,
I think EVERY piece of that bull was laid on the altar and for us we too have to be completely sold out, All IN for God, then… we too will say, “The Lord, He is God! and God He is My LORD!”
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. 39 Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”
On the way to church recently I heard a thought about my unanswered prayers, “I will not do something against a person’s will.” The sermon wasn’t going 5 minutes when Bishop Drew spoke those very words. The Apostle Paul said it’s a choice on our part here.
Philippians 2: 5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,
Now the 3rd issue for some religions. The Shema, Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
They may accept Jesus as a good man, maybe even a prophet of God but are dogmatic in the “One God” even when Genesis says God moved by His Spirit and the physical manifestations of God through theophanies all over the bible. Jesus said that He, the Father and Spirit are “One” many times. The Apostle John also testifies that the Father, Son and Spirit are “One”
Jesus and John explained this. Either you believe it or you don’t. If you want to know the truth, ask Father God in prayer from a sincere heart to reveal it to you. I believe He will.
John 14 5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
The Father Revealed
7 “If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; and from now on you know Him and have seen Him.” 8 Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is sufficient for us.” 9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works. 11 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves.
The Answered Prayer
12 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father. 13 And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
Jesus Promises Another Helper
15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
Indwelling of the Father and the Son
19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
1 John 5 – Obedience by Faith
5 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
The Certainty of God’s Witness
6 This is He who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not only by water, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. 7 For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one. 8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one.
9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. 11 And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13 These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.
10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; – there isn’t a person on earth or a demon from hell that could convince me that God has not intervened in personal ways in my life, spoken to my mind and knows me by my name.
I am less than a nobody. If you’ve read my testimony you would wonder just like I have many times, how or why would God do all He’s done in and hopefully through my life. I don’t deserve God’s forgiveness or hope of an eternity in heaven but HE offers it to me and to you. Since the Garden of Eden, God has had to intervene on man’s behalf and His Spirit is still doing that today. He’s not shedding the blood of innocent animals anymore. When God tested Abraham to see if he would sacrifice Isaac, God painted the picture of what He would eventually do to shed the ONLY Perfect Blood that would not cover for a year but “forgive sins forever.”
If the mind of God is speaking to your heart and mind don’t shut Him out or reject His voice from your carnal mind. Our carnal mind will never understand God’s offer of forgiveness of our sins and salvation through the Blood of Jesus. It must be accepted by Faith. If it weren’t SO Unbelievable to our mind, it Wouldn’t BE By FAITH.
Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
What might have happened to Adam and Eve if they rejected the “covering” for their sin after God killed and shed innocent blood when they didn’t know what to do but “hide from God.”
In The Word 