To Be or Not To Be | Lesson 13

 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves

 to think any thing as of ourselves; 

but our sufficiency is of God;   II Corinthians 3:5 

Lesson 13 | High-Minded -- To be or not to be .. why is there a question?? 

[PDF copy available here. and  A Treatise of the fear of God for you to print and read]

Reading this week's text, we come to the TENTH out-flowing of the fear of God, humility of mind. SPRINGS OF WATER   Humility of mind is the opposite of High Minded.  

If we could give personal characteristics to a spring of water, we can see that by comparison it is not a river, it is not a lake, it is not the ocean or the sea.  A spring of water is small, seemingly unimportant, not easily noticeable, it is just a quiet flow of water that causes that which is around it to grow without regard to itself.   Sounds like humility of mind.  Preferring the flora and fauna, bugs and critters more important than itself.  (Can I make that analogy? I think that works.)

 High-Minded .. it seems pretty similar to pride but the Scriptures use the word High-Minded .. why??  The simple answer is because the LORD knows the times we are living in and has a way of escape from temptation. He chose this word because He knows that it will be a deception that will draw away many Christians.  But it doesn't have to draw you away from the LORD.  Fear God and turn from evil.

Our generation is probably the most hard hit with this philosophy of High-Mindedness more than those before us.  The "positive thinking" culture had it's start many years ago; and caught fire with a man named Napoleon Hill who wrote Think and Grow Rich and continued with  Norman Vincent Peale and The Power of Positive Thinking.  Because of some seemingly godly or moral values, it has been not only embraced by the church, but taught and promoted by the church.  

The most recognizable perpetrators are those of the "Faith Movement".(ie...Name it and Claim it. HERE is an eye-opening article with video of Victoria Osteen's view of why worship) They have their own version of convincing ones self to obtain the material things one wants or desires.

Curt and I fell into this false teaching not once but twice!  YIKES!  We thought we were strong enough to not be deceived. The draw is so strong, the misuse of Bible verses so convincing, that we got suckered.  When you plead with the LORD to keep you out of false teaching, you have to have ears to hear the LORD when he speaks and then YOU HAVE TO OBEY.  The LORD is patient; however time is running out before his wrath will be poured out on the children of disobedience.  So now.. we warn!! 

COMMERCIAL BREAK:  Children of disobedience are those who have at sometime claimed the LORD as their God and Saviour but have turned a disobedient heart.  Children of disobedience are not the same as the heathen or the wicked.  The heathen and the wicked are those who refuse God from the get-go.  Do a word search and find out for yourself.

Let's jump over to Romans 12:2  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. 

What is the world teaching today??  What is popular culture for success and happiness??  Let's look at current buzz words:  positive thinking, dream big, change, empowerment, success, happiness, right attitude, thoughts, brain mapping, mindset, believe.  

As I was doing some research on the two authors mentioned above, I came across some pretty eye-opening biographical information.  The Power of Positive Thinking actually teaches  

Concealed hypnosis

A second major accusation of Peale is that he attempted to conceal that his techniques for giving the reader absolute self-confidence and deliverance from suffering are a well known form of hypnosis, and that he attempts to persuade his readers to follow his beliefs through a combination of false evidence and self-hypnosis (autosuggestion), disguised by the use of terms which may sound more benign from the reader's point of view ("techniques", "formulas," "methods," "prayers," and "prescriptions."). One author called Peale's book "The Bible of American autohypnotism."

While his techniques are not debated by psychologists, Peale said his theological practice and strategy was directed more at self-analysis, forgiveness, character development, and growth much like the Jesuits of the Catholic Church.

And this quote by Napoleon Hill: If you truly desire money so keenly that your desire is an obsession, you will have no difficulty in convincing yourself that you will acquire it. The object is to want money, and to be so determined to have it that you convince yourself that you will have it. . . You may as well know, right here, that you can never have riches in great quantities unless you work yourself into a white heat of desire for money, and actually believe you will possess it. 

What does the Scriptures say?? I Timothy 6:10  For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. 

DEFINE: 

• High Minded
• Humble
• Meek
• Mocking
• Pride
• Prefer

LOOK UP:

• Proverbs 17:5
• Proverbs 29:7
• Job 34:19
• Romans 12:1-3
• I Timothy 6:17
• II Timothy 3:4

Bunyan writes: "From this grace of fear then flows this excellent and comely thing, humility; yea it also is maintained in this fear.  Fear takes off a man from trusting to himself."

Looking carefully at the buzz words for popular society of happy and healthy people we can see that the 'self-help' , 'positive thinking' conversation is a covert plan to pull Christians away from trusting in God alone to trusting in one's own ability to overcome, press through, and survive the challenges.  BUT, if we are in the fear of the LORD all the day long (Proverbs 23:17) then we will walk in humility of mind.

Psalm 147:11  The LORD taketh pleasure in them that fear him, in those that hope in his mercy. 
Fear, true fear of God inclineth the heart to a serious inquiry after that way of salvation which God himself hath prescribed; -- stop there -- IT IS THE WAY GOD HIMSELF HATH PRESCRIBED.

The 11th through 13th outward flowing of fear of God are exclamation points to the 10th.

ELEVETH: There flows from this grace of fear, hope in the mercy of God.  
TWELFTH:  There flows from this godly fear of God an honest and conscientious use of all those means which God hath ordained, that we should be conversant in for our attaining salvation.  
    -- Not that faith and hope are deficient, if they be right, but they are both of them counterfeit when not attended with a reverent use of all the means:
THIRTEENTH:  There flows from this fear, this godly fear, a great delight in the holy commands of God, that is, a delight to be conformable unto them.

Psalm 112:1 Blessed is the man that feareth the Lord, that delighteth greatly in his commandments.

You see, if we fall into the deception brought on my 'positive thinking' teachers, we also fall into the trap that we can put our trust in ourselves.  And then this leads to not trusting in God alone.  This leads to falling away from God.

II Thessalonians 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; 

Are we willing to be conformed unto the Word of God...or would we rather have God conform to us?? If we think we need him at all?