I know there is a kind of life you want to be living.

I know there’s a future you so badly want to step into.

I know there’s a person you would love to become.

And I also know you have serious doubts as to whether you’ll ever live that kind of life, step into that kind of future, and become that kind of person.

Why are some people able to step into the life they were made for and others seem to miss out on it forever?

What’s the difference? What’s the secret for those who are seeing the results we wish were seeing in our lives? I shared this quote last week from Dallas Willard:

“Wherever your mind goes, the rest of your life goes with it.” Dallas Willard, Life Without Lack

While I still think this is true 7 days later, this quote by itself makes us think that it all starts in our minds. But what if our mind isn’t the place it all begins for us?

Before it becomes our mind’s responsibility to direct our lives, it becomes our responsibility to direct our mind.

I’m calling this message, “Your Mind has a Leader”, and our main text for today is Romans 8:5-6.

Romans 8:5-6 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.

While your mind will lead your life, you’ve been given the privilege and responsibility of leading your mind. Or to say it a better way, you have handed over the leadership reigns of your mind to either the flesh or the Spirit. A question we have all asked ourselves or that we should ask ourselves is this one:

How have I become the person I am today?

Now there are many answers to this question. You have become who you are today through: the way God uniquely designed you, the family you were born into, the culture you grew up in formed you in some way, the city of San Francisco has had something to do with who you are, where you attended school, how much money your parents made, what opportunities you were afforded, the great things that have happened to you, the terrible things that have happened to you, and a million other things that have shaped you into who you are today. But to sum up how you have so far become who you are today:

Your life has been significantly shaped by your mind. Your mind has been significantly shaped by the flesh or by the Spirit.

We’re not just talking about the big things you’ve done that were good or the major things you’ve done that were evil. We’re talking about every thought, desire, action, and belief you’ve had throughout your entire life.

“Everyone is in a process of spiritual formation! Every thought we hold, every decision we make, every action we take, every emotion we allow to shape our behavior, every response we make to the world around us, every relationship we enter into, every reaction we have toward the things that surround us and impinge upon our lives – all of these things, little by little, are shaping us into some kind of being. We are being shaped into either the wholeness of the image of Christ or a horribly destructive caricature of that image, destructive not only to ourselves but also to others, for we inflict our brokenness upon them.” Robert Mulholland, Invitation to a Journey

We must understand that who we are today is not a complete mystery. And I think this is a good thing. If we can understand how we’ve been shaped so far in our lives, then it’s likely we’ll also be able to understand how we can be formed in the days, weeks, months, and years to come.

Let’s say you’re 30 years old. You tend to have a negative mindset. You’ve gotten used to some habits or addictions that aren’t serving you well. It seems impossible for you to break free from them. Let’s be honest – you already tried to do better and it just didn’t’ work. Now imagine who you want to be at age 60. Living by the Spirit. Full of Life, Peace, Joy, Gentleness, Patience, Faithfulness, Goodness, Love, and Self-Control. What will it take over the next 30 years for you to become this person?

It will take a mind that is mostly led by the Spirit so that you will live a life that is more Spirit-filled than flesh-filled. How do we live that kind of life? I have experienced more of a Spirit-led life in my 40’s than any other decade I’ve been alive. No, I do not do this perfectly. In fact, it’s my great hope that my 50’s will have more Spirit-led living than my 40’s and that my 60’s will have more than my 50’s. But I have seen God transform me in some radical ways.

I used to be enslaved to things of the flesh that I thought I could never be free from. It didn’t happen overnight, but it has happened. I’d love to walk you through what I’ve learned practically that Scripture speaks to as well. The first thing has to do with my deepest desires. Here’s a question I had to get honest with myself about and I encourage you to do the same?

What do you really want most?

I had to be honest with myself about the answer to this question. What did I want my life to be about? Who did I really want to become? What kind of man, husband, father, pastor, friend?

What you want most must be greater than what you want now.

How many of my biggest regrets and your biggest regrets have come from choosing what we wanted in a moment over what we wanted ultimately?

We are a mixed bag of desires. We want things of the flesh and we want things of the Spirit. The flesh and the Spirit both make promises to us, but only one can deliver.

Where is your flesh promising you satisfaction that can only be found in God?

The flesh promises you pleasure if you have sexual activity outside of a marriage; however, it ends up delivering destruction to you and others. The flesh promises that wealth will solve all of your problems, but it can’t deliver joy and peace.The flesh promises you that a self-absorbed life will help you get everything you want; but it delivers discontentment when you give in to it.

“We can’t control what we desire, but we can control what habits we give our minds and bodies to and, in doing so, index our hearts away from the flesh and toward the Spirit. This is under our power and therefore a form of responsibility before God and our fellow humans.” John Mark Comer, Live No Lies

Yes, our desires are SO strong. But we can lead ourselves away from what the flesh desires and towards what the Spirit desires. There are practices we can engage in that open our minds to the Spirit and close our minds to the flesh.

Your mind can be transformed. If your mind can be transformed, your life can be transformed.

There are thoughts and ways of being that used to consume me. While it didn’t happen overnight, I can tell you honestly that many of those thoughts rarely, if ever, even come into my mind these days. God has set me free, which is the very thing He promised to do for us.

Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

To live in the freedom Jesus wants to give you, what do you need to step into?

To live in the freedom Jesus wants to give you, what do you need to step away from?

1 Peter 2:11 Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful desires, which wage war against your soul.

Replacements. From my own experience: I can’t just stop sowing into the flesh. I have to replace it by sowing into the Spirit. Just ask this question before making your choices – the big ones and all of the small ones:

Will this help me sow into the flesh or into the Spirit?

As you discipline your child who has done the wrong thing, will you discipline according to the flesh or the spirit? As you think about your approach to your work this week – both the tasks and the people – flesh or Spirit? As you think about your spending, your saving, and your giving decisions – flesh or Spirit? When criticism comes to you and me, it will hurt. But even with some pain, we can still respond in a flesh-filled way or a Spirit-filled way. Will your engage your dating life or your marriage in the flesh or in the Spirit?

Galatians 5:25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

Last month, Shauna told us how this is a moment-by-moment directive…not just for the major moments in our lives. This is how we become people whose minds are governed by the Spirit, resulting in life and peace. Nail down your true identity and then live out of it.

Romans 8:14 For those who are led by the Spirit are the children of God.

It makes it seem like, if you live a life led by the Spirit – you become children of God. But it can’t mean that and here’s why – only the true children of God are given the Spirit. Are you a child of God?

Response:

• Step into life with God and receive the Spirit

• Break free from the grip of the flesh

• Sow into life with the Spirit and what the Spirit desires