Transformational Thinking
by Randall Worley (Transformational Thinking)
Text: Ephesians 1:18-19; 3:20
“The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward that believe, according to the working of His mighty power." “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us."These verses are a portion of a prayer that Paul prayed for the Ephesian believers. He is encouraging them to think the unthinkable, reach for the unreachable, to imagine the unimaginable. Thinking outside the box is a modern cliché or phrase used to refer to gaining a new perspective without the limitations of preconceptions. This phrase is widely used today in the scientific and business communities describing those that are involved in seeking for cures or solutions. This is in essence what Paul is saying when he speaks of having the eyes of our understanding enlightened and experiencing the exceeding greatness of his power. Seldom do we ever really think about the way we think. What or who limits us? The box or the limited thinking begins to form early in life. Who has not had the experience as a child when your mind was fertile and still forming, of asking a question in school and being made to feel stupid by jeering classmates? In that very moment the box began to form, these experiences can become defining moments. I remember in elementary school due to my introverted personality and perceived inferiority, being reluctant to ask questions for fear of appearing stupid. I began to withdraw and a pattern of thinking that I allowed to confine me eventually defined me. A belief is not an idea that a person possesses; it is an idea that possesses a person. Two proverbs describe this dynamic. "As a man thinketh in his heart so is he." (Proverbs 23:7) also, "Keep your heart with all diligence; for out of it flows the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23) Issues, means borders or boundaries. Recent research has concluded that the heart has more neurons than the brain, meaning that the heart has more capacity for memory. We rarely remember with accuracy what has happened to us in life that has created boundaries as much as we remember how it made us feel. If we fail to diligently guard our hearts from issues that attempt to define us; we will focus on what we are not, instead of what God says we are. Romans 10:9-10 states that we believe with our heart unto righteousness. What we believe on a conscious level is influenced by what we believe on a heart level. Psychology refers to this as being our subconscious. The scripture identifies this as being the hidden man of the heart. (I Peter 3:4) Our heart or whom we are at the deepest level is the matrix through which we see our world and ourselves. We will always return to heart beliefs regardless what we say we believe on a conscious level. Jesus referred to the Pharisees a devout religious sect of his day, as being hypocrites. The word hypocrite came from the first century theatre and described actors who wore mask to portray a character. He said these people draw near to me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. (Matthew 15:9) Christians are satiated with systematic teaching of doctrines that are designed to make them conform to religions ideas of what they should be. They consequently have a form of godliness but denying the power thereof. (2 Timothy 3:5). It is possible to be "ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth". (2 Timothy 3:7) The pressure to conform comes basically from two sources: relationships and religion.
I read a survey that was conducted with adherents of major religions in the world determining the affect of their teaching on their followers self esteem. The startling results revealed that Christians had a lower self- esteem than Buddhist, Hindus, and Moslems. It seems Christianity has been so obsessed with believers not thinking of themselves more Highly than ought in an attempt to instill humility, that they have developed a second- class citizen complex. The world considers Christians to be weak minded, needing faith to anesthetize them to the challenges of the real world. True humility is not self-effacing, but having confidence in the exceeding greatness of Gods power working in us. Everything and everyone that God created has innate intelligence. Receiving truth is more than acquiring information, but experiencing transformation. Having information without experiencing transformation makes us practical atheist. You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. The truth about God leads you to know the truth about yourself and sets you free from every constraint. Knowing truth will not merely inform, but transform. "Be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." (Romans 12:2)
Transformation comes from the word metamorphosis, meaning to change
from the inside out.
Religion has tried to bring about change in people by changing them from the outside in. To break free from the box created by the message of conformity and uniformity and experience transformation, we must receive a revelation of three mind molders:
What others think about you (religion and relationships). A misconception in ministry is that teaching people what is right is accomplished by confronting them with how wrong they are. A condescending attitude that implies that as leadership we are right and that qualifies us to help you. This results in people feeling we are trying to fix them. In other words, conform to our beliefs, and you will be accepted. This imposes our choices instead of empowering theirs. Herein lies the insidious spirit of control that is so pervasive in religion. The need to do right and be right will ultimately lead to just appearing right. We become more concerned that others think we are right than actually being right. Control in a church or a relationship occurs when we exchange our freedom for something that we think validates us. For years I heard this scripture quoted when attempting to reinforce the idea of raising children in a godly way, “Raise up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it." But the mistake is thinking that we can raise them in the way "we" want them to go and not the way "they" should go. We do have a responsibility as parents to teach our children the scripture but we do not have a license to make them conform to what we believe they should be in God. Paul responded to the perception of the Corinthian believers of him. "With me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not myself." (I Corinthians 4:3) He refused to be controlled by their unrealistic opinions. When Peter was miraculously delivered from prison in Acts 12 his release was described as him not only being delivered from prison, but also from the expectation of the people. The worst prison in the world is not the kind with high walls and confined cells, but the prison that exists in our minds built by the expectations of people. These expectations are not empowered by their intentions, but by our beliefs. Even Jesus was vulnerable to this following the first miracle he performed. He had just turned water into wine at a marriage in Cana, and as a result many believed in Him. Jesus did not allow himself to be influenced by their approval because he knew the intentions of men and did not need their validation. The approval of men is addictive. If we get hooked on it, we will be like a junky and give anything to get a fix. Obviously, we all are affected by approval or disapproval. The key is in understanding that we may be affected, but it we don't have to allow ourselves to be infected by it. It is eye-opening experience to realize that people often influence us more than the Bible.
What you think of yourself. (Imaginations). The mind has difficulty distinguishing the difference between something that is real or imagined. The imagination of man can be positive or negative. In Genesis 11 nothing was restrained from the imaginations of the men that were building the Tower Of Babel, which ironically means confusion. Babylon, from Genesis to Revelation is a type of religion. These towers, or we could say thoughts, constructed in our minds have confused us about ourselves. In light of that, consider this word picture used by Paul in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." The word imagination is a derivative of the word logic, reasoning or thoughts. A stronghold was a well-fortified position held by an enemy. Strongholds are built over the years in us thought by thought, and become the position from which our mind defends itself against the knowledge of God, and consequently the knowledge of our true self. My perception of God and my self-perception are interconnected. I cannot see myself accurately if I don't see God accurately. Jesus exposed a distorted perception of God held by the religious world in Matthew 5:43, “You have heard that it has been said, You should love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.” Jesus did not say it was written, but that it had been said. Hating our enemies is not condoned in scripture, but religion added this view of God. So we in turn, become like the God we believe in. Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself. The sequence is first to love yourself. We have been made to feel that loving ourselves is self-centered. When we love ourselves with the unconditional love he has given to us we are loving Him and others. We cannot give what we have not received. We love him because He "first loved us." People come into the kingdom of God unable to trust God. They are introduced to a God of conditional love that has already rejected them. I remember well when communion was served in church that I never felt worthy because of the misinterpretation of I Corinthians 12:28-29, "Let every man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread, and drink of the cup. For he that eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lords body. So like everyone else I would begin to do an internal audit to determine if I had lived a life worthy to receive communion. But Paul does not say for us to remember everything that is wrong with us. He says in verse 24 for that we are to remember what Jesus did for us. Not what I have done, but what He has done. The word examine means that something has been inspected and been given the seal of approval.
What God thinks about me? (Reality)
It has been said that perception is reality. But I have learned that how I see it, is not how it is; it's just how I see it. When we create a concept of God to justify what we do not understand, we alter our perception of God, which in turn alters our perception of ourselves. We want God to see things the way we show them to Him. This becomes an argument with reality. God created us in His image, but we seek to create him in our image to fit our perception of the world. I John 3:2, "When we see him we will be like Him, for we will know Him as He is." I don't believe this should be relegated to seeing Him when he returns. Maybe we have never really seen or perceived Him as He is. In the beatitudes, Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:9) The word pure means to catheterize, which in medical practices today is a procedure that enables a patient to void toxins from their body. Many of our religious beliefs about God have been toxic. We have already decided how we will see God before we ever read the scripture and tend to read passages that reinforce our toxic belief systems. There are many today like Apollos, that are eloquent and mighty in the scriptures but need to have the way of God expounded to them more perfectly.” (Acts 18:24-26) Their views of God are not necessarily total error, but incomplete. Sincerity alone is not evidence that we have believed the truth. We still read the Bible with an Old Testament prescription. (2 Corinthians 3:14-18) Perceiving God through the lens of the law makes us disciples of Moses instead of disciples of Jesus, only seeing a God that is hard to please, emotionally volatile, and difficult to know. Angry fire breathing preachers portray a God that is ready to nuke them when they break the rules. Their invitations to receive Christ motivate the hearer to secure a fire insurance policy that will protect them from an eternal hell, only to pay the interminable premiums of religious performance. We accept that we are saved by grace or His unmerited favor, but then spend the rest of our lives trying to merit what was unmerited. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 3:1-3) The threat of Gods wrath does not lead men to genuine repentance. It is the goodness of God (Romans 2:4) that leads them to change their minds about God and themselves. Romans 5:9, "We are saved from the wrath to come through Jesus." How does God really see us? "He that touches you, touches the apple of His eye.” (Zechariah 2:8) The word apple is a Hebrew idiom for the pupil of a man's eye. If you stand face to face with someone and look closely into his or her eyes you can see your own reflection in their pupil. In this manner, God is saying that if we seek His face, we will be able to see what He sees in us. Israel limited God by judging Him as unable to bring them through the wilderness and into the land He had promised. (Psalm 78:41) They believed His promises until it had to be accomplished through them. Israel believed the evil report of ten spies with reconnaissance that they were grasshoppers in their own sight, and so they were in the eyes of the intimidating giants that occupied the promise land. Notice they were first in their own sight, and then in the sight of the giants, mere grasshoppers. Their limited view of themselves limited their ability to receive their inheritance. (Numbers 13:31-33)
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by dunstancgm30
January 4th, 2009 (06:01)