(Read Matthew 16:23-23)
This morning continue our overarching series, “Grace that is Simply Amazing” by continuing with our mini-series entitled, “Grace Based Success (Prosperity)”. We have been studying the life of the Apostle Peter and our study brought us to Matthew chapter 16. We spent the last few weeks in this chapter. It was here that Jesus basically ‘tested’ the disciples to see how they were thinking. Jesus wanted to know if the men closest to Him thought like He did or like everyone else did. Jesus asked them, “Who do people say I am?” After the disciples gave their response Jesus asked, “Who do you say I am?” Jesus wanted to know if the disciples’ thinking was any different from that of the world. When Simon provided an answer that clearly came from heaven, Jesus commended him and changed his name to Peter. But a few minutes later, when Peter dropped back down to human reality and addressed Jesus in a way that lined up with the world, Jesus looked at Peter and rebuked satan.
The message this morning comes in the form of a question: how does your thinking line up? Is your thinking aligned with heaven or do you see things just like everyone else in this world?
So what does this mean to you today? Let’s get into it and see.
1. God does not think like men do.
a) The prophet Isaiah said, “The Lord says, “My thoughts are not like yours. Your ways are not like mine. Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8,9).
b) There is a world of difference between the way God sees things and the way men do.
c) While men’s thinking can be affected by lots of things, God’s thinking is perfectly aligned with His purpose. He is not moved by anything but purpose.
d) When Jesus told His disciples that He was going to have to die, His thinking was perfectly aligned with God’s purpose. When Peter spoke against the purpose of God Jesus rebuked him. We must learn to align our thinking with God’s purposes and not anything else.
2. God is Spiritual not sensual.
a) To think the way God does you must learn to submit to the leading of the Holy Spirit. God gave you His Spirit so you could know what He is thinking (see 1 Cor 2).
b) You are spirit (that is the real you), you possess a soul (comprised of your mind, emotions and will), and your spirit and soul live in an earthly body (for now).
c) Since God is a Spirit He does not seek to communicate with you through your body. God communicates with you through your spirit. And God gave you His Spirit when you were Born-Again, so He could communicate with you Spirit-to-spirit.
d) Your body relates to this world through senses – what you can see, hear, touch, taste and smell. This is why your body does not communicate with God. God is a Spirit and He communicates with you through your spirit, not through your senses.
e) When something aligns with your senses — meaning that it is common to this world — you say it “makes sense”. But God is a Spirit and He does not have to “make sense”. God is Spiritual, not sensual. What God tells you to do requires faith because it will often come with no sense-realm evidence. God will tell you things you cannot validate with your senses.
3. How does your thinking line up?
a) When Jesus said He was going to die and then be raised from the dead, His statement did not “make sense” in this world, but it was true because it was aligned with God’s purpose.
b) Jesus had conditioned His mind to accept whatever the Father said and to think like the Father. Have you?
c) Peter was not conditioned to consistently think like God. This is why he saw something like God one minute and he saw something else the world the next. Are you conditioned to think like God? Does your thinking consistently line up with God and His thoughts or with this world and everyone else? You will never experience consistent success until your thoughts consistently line up with God and His purposes.
Closing Confession: Father, I thank You for teaching me about Your grace and my requirement to live by faith. You speak things to me that align with Your plans and purposes… things You planned for me before the world began. You tell me that You love me and You reveal things to me that You prepared for me by Your grace. You then require me to believe what You revealed so that information can influence my actions. That is called faith. I must do this without any sense-realm evidence. You will tell me things that make no sense. That’s why I live by faith and not my senses. I use my senses to relate to this world. I use my spirit to relate to Your world. And I condition my mind to think like You think, so I can consistently live by faith. The more my mind is renewed, the more my thoughts will not fight Your thoughts. I want my thoughts to perfectly align with Yours and Your purposes. This way it will be easier for me to by faith and to experience Your best. I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
