"If you get your head so full of God's Word, sin will quit you!

If you get the light from God's Word in you, darkness will find somewhere else to go! You are cleansed through the Word" (John 15:3).

—Billy Joe Daugherty

Contents

1    A Living Sacrifice

2    Garbage In... Garbage Out

3    Man: A Three-Part Being

4    Renewing Your Mind

5    Crucifying the Old Nature

6    Reigning in Life

Personal Prayer of Commitment

1

A Living Sacrifice

You can experience a turnaround and good changes in your life if you will allow your thinking to be rearranged by a daily input of God's Word. Romans 12:1,2 says:

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

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.

Paul was admonishing believers, "In light of all that God has done for us, we are to give our bodies to serve God and offer them to Him as living sacrifices."

In the Old Testament, once a year a dead sacrifice was offered to God by the high priest. An animal was killed and laid upon the altar. Its blood covered or atoned for the sins of the people.

In New Testament times, which we are in, our sacrifice for sin has already been made once and for all through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. It is then our decision, our choice, to offer our bodies to God as living sacrifices. No one else can present your body to God. You have to present it to Him. Paul said, "Don't be conformed to this world." The Phillips Translation of verse 2 says, "Don't let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold, but let God re-make you so that your whole attitude of mind is changed...."

The "world" has a lifestyle, mannerisms and morals distinctly different from born-again believers. Unlike the world, a believer's lifestyle, morals, mannerisms, thoughts, words and actions are to be patterned after Jesus Christ. It is an admonishment from on High that we not be squeezed into the world's mold.

It has been said, "If some people were on trial for being Christians, there wouldn't be enough evidence to convict them." When we are born again, there is to be evidence of change in our lives.

Paul said, "Be ye transformed.”

Transformed means "changed, altered, or rearranged." How is this transformation to take place? By the renewing of our minds with God's Word. What God says is what we are to say. We can get our heads straight by filling them with the right stuff—God's Word. Then our minds will be renewed. We must fill our minds with the thoughts, ideas, words and information that come from God. His ideas, His nature, His standards are all contained in His Word.

When the mind is renewed and the body is offered to God, then we will "prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:2). Until our minds are renewed with the Word, we will not fulfill the will of God for our lives.

2

Garbage In... Garbage Out

When a person accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, the life of God comes into their heart, or spirit. But their head is still full of the same old thoughts they had before. When your head is full of the wrong kind of thinking, your body will go the wrong direction. To have a heart that is filled with the life of God but continue in sin brings guilt, condemnation and frustration.

This is the exact place many Christians are in today. They know what is right, but their body leads them in another direction.

The mind is the arena of battle for every person. What is being fed into the mind will be acted out in real life. You cannot continue to put garbage in and expect something good to come out. If you want to get a different output from your mind, then you will have to change the input. If the life you are experiencing is not what you want, then you must make a change.

You may be asking, "But how can I make a change?" You can increase your reading, hearing, study and meditation of God's Word. The light of God’s Word will drive the darkness out of your life.

Some people have been trying to quit sin— lying, stealing, lusting and getting angry, to name a few areas of challenge of the old nature. Sometimes people go to the church altar and want the pastor to pray it out of them: "Pastor, pray that this anger will leave me. Pray that fear and loneliness will go from my life." I can pray, but if this person's mind is not renewed with God's Word, the very same thoughts that were in their life before will come again and will be acted out.

How do you shed the habits of your old nature and take on the new nature of Jesus Christ? You put so much of the Word of God inside of you that sin will quit you. It won't want to stay around you.

The problem with sin in believers is between their ears. If something other than the Word of God is put in a person's head, it will cause them to think and do things that their spirit doesn't want to do.

3

Man: A Three-Part Being

God created man a three-part being. Just as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are One, yet expressed in three different persons, we are created in three distinct parts: spirit, soul and body.

You are a spirit. That's your heart, also referred to in Scripture as the hidden man of the heart, the inner man, or your innermost being.

Jesus said:

If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly [or spirit] shall flow rivers of living water.

John 7:37,38

Scripture says, "God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth" (John 4:24). The life of God comes in your spirit when you are born again.

Your soul is made up of your mind, will, emotions and intellect.

You live inside of a body. When physical death occurs, you simply slip out of the body just like a hand slips out of a glove. Your body is not the "real" you. Your spirit man is the real you. Your body is like a shell over you.

When Adam was created, his spirit was in control. His mind was under the rule of his spirit, and his body did what his spirit and mind said to do. His spirit was directed by God, and he had authority and dominion.

The day came when Adam and Eve yielded to the temptation of the devil to eat the fruit that God had told them not to eat. The serpent, Satan, said it would make them wise and they would be like God. It was pleasant to look at and good for food. Eve responded first from her spirit when she said, "...God hath said, ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die" (Genesis 3:3). That was her spirit speaking.

But the longer Eve entertained the thought in her mind, she let her body and her mind supersede her spirit. Instead of listening to the voice of God, she put it down and listened to her head. Her head said, "It will make me wise. I'll be like God." Her body said, "It is good for food, and it will satisfy you." Instead of responding to her spirit, she responded to her soul and body and sinned.

You and I face this same temptation every day —to allow our minds and bodies to rule us instead of our spirit man. Paul said, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (Romans 8:14).

Jesus faced the same temptations that Adam and Eve faced, but instead of yielding to what His eyes could see—turning stones to bread, jumping off the temple to prove He was somebody and accepting the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them—He went by His spirit and said, "It is written." His spirit spoke the Word of God. He allowed His spirit to reign over His soul and body.

When you receive Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, your spirit man can rule your life, and you can put your mind and body under the domination of your spirit. Instead of your body bossing you around, the real you—your spirit—will tell your body what it is to do. Instead of your mind ruling, your spirit man will give the direction for your thoughts.

Every thought that comes into your mind is not from God. God's Word will help you divide between what is from your spirit and what is from your soulish or fleshly realm. When you have the Word of God deep inside of you, you will be able to say "no" to the wrong thoughts and "yes" to the right ones.

Jesus said:

Whoever drinks of this water [natural water] will thirst again,

But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him [the eternal water of the Word and the Spirit] will never thirst [for the pleasures and evil desires of the world]. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.

John 4:13,14 NKJV

4

Renewing Your Mind

Have you ever seen a born-again person go back to the world and revert to his old ways? You knew him when he was born again and there was a beautiful change in his life. But now he is in a backslidden condition.

Then, you know another person who was saved at the same time. This person's life is fruitful and productive for the Kingdom of God, and they are living a victorious life.

What's the difference between these two people? Does God show respect of persons (or favoritism) and bless one more than another? No! The deciding factor is the renewing of the mind!

You can make a decision to be a champion if you want to be, but it will cost you something. It will cost you the price of renewing your mind so your thinking is right through reading the Word of God, hearing the Word, meditating on the Word, speaking the Word and praising God for His Word. Ephesians 4:22 says:

That ye put off concerning the former conversation [which means your lifestyle or your old way of living] the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts.

Deceitful means that someone desires something that is wrong. It pulls them the wrong way, and they think they are going to be satisfied by it. Instead, they are destroyed. Lust and sin have pleasure for a moment, but they bring pain for all eternity.

In your old life, evil desires pulled you, corrupted you and led you in sin. Paul was saying, "Put off that old way of living—immorality, anger, envy, jealousy, bitterness, resentment, all those things." Then he said:

And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;

And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Verses 23,24

Paul was simply saying, "Quit acting like the devil!"

To be renewed in the spirit of your mind means to get the oil changed in your head! With the fresh oil of the Holy Spirit, you will have a new outlook and a pleasant, positive attitude.

So how do you get Christ's life which is in you to manifest outwardly in your words and actions so you will begin to act like Jesus? By being renewed in the spirit of your mind.

Think about an inexperienced driver, perhaps a little reckless and dangerous, who has an old car with a few dents, scrapes and scratches on it. Although the car is old, the owner puts a new engine in it. Looking at the exterior of the old, beat-up car, you'd never know it has power on the inside.

This is a picture of a lot of believers. On the outside their life is a wreck. They are chasing wine, women and song and everything else! Yet, in their heart, they have accepted Jesus Christ and they may even love the Lord.

What's the problem? You will have to take your body into the body shop! You will have to take your head for a little driver's ed and reorient your thinking so you won't make the wrong turns.

Instead, you will turn at the right intersection. When something pulls you to go to Rat Albert's Tavern to get bombed out, your mind, filled with God's Word, will take you another direction.

You can train your mind to say, "No, I'm a new creation. Old things have passed away. I'm putting off the old man and putting on the new."

When you are born again, your spirit is a new creation. You have a tiger in your tank! In fact, it's the Lion of the tribe of Judah! Hallelujah! You've got awesome power. The same power that raised Christ from the dead is under your hood!

You are created in righteousness and true holiness. You may look like a wreck on the outside, but inside is the life of God. You can get your body whipped into shape, too. Paul said, "You present your body to God." No one else can do it for you.

God can give you a new birth, but when you are saved, your body doesn't change automatically. You don't get a new mind when you are born again. You must renew your mind by cracking the Book!

Life will always be frustrating for the Christian who thinks a change in his or her mind will happen like going through an instant photograph developer! "Plop in and plop out, and I'm a new person!" To be a "living sacrifice" means a daily commitment or offering of your body to the Lord.

One day you are on top of the mountain, living for Jesus, yet the next day you can take your body and go live for the devil. How can this be? You must make a choice to surrender your body to God.

It's the same thing with your mind. Your mind can be straight. You can think right thoughts. You can be so happy, yet walk right out of the church and pump yourself with the junk of the world. When you forget the Bible and forget God, you will be depressed, fearful and doubtful. The choice is up to you.

Your mind is like a computer. What is stored inside of it will kick out at critical moments in your life. As you meditate upon God's Word, He will reprogram and realign your thoughts to agree with His thoughts!

5

Crucifying the Old Nature

Why do some born-again people still act like the devil? They let the lust of the flesh and the ideas of the world rule and control their lives.

Many people want those in spiritual leadership to cast the devil out of their mind. They're doing things that are wrong. They say, "Would you pray for me and cast the devil out?" In most cases the issue is not demon possession, but it is the flesh that has not been crucified to come in line with God's Word. No one can cast out your flesh. Your job is to renew your mind and crucify your flesh. Ephesians 4:30,31 says:

And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice.

You can say, "In the name of Jesus, I will not allow anger to rule my life." When someone says something to you that you don't like and you are about to knock their lights out, let the Word of life and love rise up in you and replace your anger.

If your flesh draws you toward a wrong relationship, or someone pulls the line and your flesh jerks, when the Word gets in you, you will cut the line! The Word of God will pull you. The light of heaven will shine inside of your spirit.

Just as your physical body must have food on a regular basis to remain strong, your spirit man must have daily doses of God's Word to be strengthened. Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4).

Some people are fasting their spirit and stuffing their bodies. It should be the other way around where we fast our bodies and stuff our spirits. If you will overdose on the Word of God, you will kick some bad habits within a short time.

Some people say, "Pray for me and we'll see what happens." Then when it doesn't happen, they say, "Pastor, you've lost your touch!"

Think about a farmer who has a piece of good ground. What happens when he lets the weeds grow and he doesn't fertilize or irrigate it? You can have a good field in the natural or a good heart as a person, but if you let the weeds grow up, you don't water and fertilize it, then in either case you will grow a crop of weeds, thorns and thistles.

Nowhere in Scripture does it say that Christians are to be depressed, discouraged, or dismayed. How do you counter circumstances, situations and negative comments of people? You renew your mind with the Word that says:

Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.

Isaiah 41:10 NKJV

How would you feel if a multi-billionaire said, "I will help you"? You wouldn't respond, "I don't know what I am going to do. I've got this multibillionaire who is going to help me, but I owe $350. What am I going to do?"

People become dismayed over problems that have no relationship to the magnitude of the God whom we serve.

Remember, God spoke to Abraham, "Is any thing too hard for the Lord?" (Genesis 18:14). Jesus said, "...For with God all things are possible" (Mark 10:27).

John Mason tells the story about discovering a bump on his leg. He started thinking that it was going to grow and become a lump. Then in his mind he saw himself getting his leg cut off. He said, "I went from a bump to a lump to a stump in just a few minutes!" He said, "I began to cast down that imagination and pray."

Many people have all kinds of challenges hit them, but they do not deal with them on the basis of the promises of God's Word. The application of Scripture promises to your challenges and trials will bring God and His solution on the scene!

If you are lonely, you can renew your mind with Hebrews 13:5b: "I will never forsake you, nor will I ever abandon you" (The Twentieth Century New Testament).

Sometimes people think, "I can't do what God has asked me to do. I am incapable." Yet, Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." A renewed mind will say, "I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me."

How do you know if your mind is renewed to the Word? When a wrong thought comes, immediately you will counter it with Scripture and you will think the right thoughts—thoughts that agree with God's Word.

You don't have to accept the confusion the world offers. Instead, begin to believe and confess, "My times are in God's hands. My steps are ordered by the Lord."

Corrie ten Boom told the story about asking her father of things that would happen in the future. She was just a little girl at the time. He said, "Corrie, when we go to get on the train, when does Dad give you your ticket?" She said, "Right before I get on the train." He said, "God will always give you what you need right before the time you need it."

God will supply your needs. Philippians 4:19 says, "But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." When you renew your mind with this Scripture promise, you will spend your days rejoicing, even while you are in the midst of a trial because you already know the outcome! "All thanks to God, who, through our union with Christ, leads us in one continual triumph" (2 Corinthians 2:14, The Twentieth Century New Testament).

Daily, take every need—that business situation, the situation with the marriage and family, the health challenge, the financial arrangements you are working on—and say, "Lord, I am bringing this to You. I cast the care on You. Thank You that it is taken care of." This type of response comes out of a renewed mind.

Your thoughts can be controlled. You can tell your body which way it is going to go. You have the power to control your body and your mind when your spirit is filled with the Word of God and you renew your thoughts to what God has spoken.

6

Reigning in Life

Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

James 1:21

James was writing to Christians when he said the soul—the mind, will, emotions and intellect— would be saved through the implanting of God's Word into your mind.

To plow up the ground of your heart to become good soil to receive the Word, you must humble yourself and admit that you have a need to receive the Word. If you have the attitude, "I've heard all of this stuff before," arrogance and pride will cause it to dissipate from your life.

I have heard the word of faith for years, but I am thrilled to hear it again and again because I know what it has produced in me in past years, and it is still producing in my life.

God spoke to Joshua about the importance of continually meditating upon His Word:

This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.

Joshua 1:8

You won't have near as much trouble with the devil if you will fill your mind with the Word of God. Too many Christians spend their days rebuking the devil. If you will put the Word of God in your heart and mind, then you can spend your time praising God for His Word. God says, "I will hasten my word to perform it" (Jeremiah 1:12). The devil will be rebuked by the Word on your lips.

We were created to reign in this life.

For if by one man’s offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:17

Reign means "to rule or dominate." This doesn't mean to dominate other people, but to dominate your flesh and your body. It means that instead of being under the circumstances, you are on top of them. In Genesis 1:28 God said, "...Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion..."

When Jesus was resurrected, He destroyed the devil and his power over the human race. It's a lie to believe that the devil has authority over you. He doesn't because Jesus stripped him of that authority. Sin doesn't have dominion over you. If you don't want to smoke, you don't have to. If you don't want to drink, lie, steal, or sleep around, you can stop it if you want to. It is a decision. The choice is up to you to renew your mind and bring your thoughts and actions in line with God's Word. In John 8:31,32 Jesus put it this way:

If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

The more you renew your mind to God's Word, you can make a decision to live in the righteousness, peace and joy of the Holy Ghost rather than in the ways of the world.

Ephesians 5:26 says we are sanctified and cleansed with the washing of the water of God's Word.

You can believe and speak the promises of God's Word in the face of temptation and challenge. The truth of God's Word will set you free in every area of your life.

Jesus already whipped the devil. The renewing of your mind lets you know what Christ has done for you. To begin to renew your mind is like a prisoner who is bound and headed for execution. But someone else pays the penalty for his wrongdoing, so the guard opens the door to his cell and says, "You are free to go." This is exactly what Jesus has already done for every person who believes in Him.

You can come out of poverty, sickness, sin, depression and discouragement. You can be salt and light in the earth. You were made to be a conqueror.

Regardless of your past, it is time to rise up. With a decision you can break the bands of homosexuality, immorality, or drug and alcohol addiction. The bands of sin will break off of you as you accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and begin to meditate on the Word and declare what God says about you.

It is time to lay aside the junk, receive the Word and put on the new life.

My word to you is from Romans 12:1,2, The New Jerusalem Bible:

I urge you, then, brothers [and sisters], remembering the mercies of God, to offer your bodies a living sacrifice, dedicated and acceptable to God; that is the kind of worship for you, as sensible people.

Do not model your behaviour on the contemporary world, but let the renewing of your minds transform you, so that you may discern for yourselves what is the will of God—what is good and acceptable and mature.

Personal Prayer of Commitment

Father, I did not realize until I understood the teaching in this minibook that the truth of Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV) applies to my thought life, which directly affects my success and prosperity: For as I think in my heart, so am I.

I repent, Father, for binding my own life by wrong thoughts and wrong words, in Jesus' name.

I acknowledge the Living Word, Jesus Christ, as Your Son, Father. I accept Your sacrifice on Calvary, Lord Jesus—Your crucifixion, burial and resurrection—and I thank You for paying the penalty in full for my sins, sickness and spiritual, physical, mental, emotional, social and financial poverty.

I renounce every work of darkness, and I receive You now, Jesus, as my personal Lord and Savior.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for empowering me with the Holy Spirit, Who will strengthen me to be an overcoming witness to others of Your mercy, grace and great love exchange—taking the filthiness of my old nature and replacing it with Your nature!

Father, "In my heart I [will] treasure your promises, to avoid sinning against you" (Psalm 119:11, The New Jerusalem Bible).

Today marks the beginning of new life for me, in Jesus' name.

(Signature)    (Date)

BILLY JOE DAUGHERTY is founder and pastor of Victory Christian Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Victory has a Christian school, Bible Institute and Missions Training Center. Other Victory outreaches include taking the gospel via radio and television to North America, along with shortwave radio and television to other nations, plus the distribution of books, tapes, and videos. He and his wife, Sharon, minister God’s healing, saving, and delivering power as a team. They have four children and a son-in-law who work alongside them in the ministry.

Table of Contents

1 A Living Sacrifice

2 Garbage In... Garbage Out

3 Man: A Three-Part Being

4 Renewing Your Mind

5 Crucifying the Old Nature

6 Reigning in Life

Personal Prayer of Commitment