You have the vision to transform your mind. Next comes intention. The fact that you are reading is intention enough for me so I will continue. How do you give access to the Holy Spirit to transform your thought life?

The Word of God
Memorizing Bible passages is a practice that was simply a necessity for thousands of years. No books! Then when writing comes along, it is rare and exuberant in expense. The priests of Israel and the leaders of the early church memorized the whole Bible!

For us, memorizing and letting the Word “marinate” in our minds is a strong defense against the ideas and images that would lead us down the wrong path. I agree with Dallas that passages like Psalm 23 or Colossians 3:1-17, when they fill our thoughts, are like a good scrubbing down of whatever else is on our minds.

There are a variety of techniques to enhance memorization, but it is pretty much just read a section, let it sit, read, recite it aloud, read… Lectio Divina can be a very helpful tool in this process.

Sound and Images
You want to fill your mind with that which points to our awesome God? Listen to the music. Everyone knows how easy it is to get hooked to a song where you “can’t get it out of my head.” Well, if that is a praise song/ hymn, an encouraging or contemplative popular song on the radio, what better way to latch on to God’s gift of music to fill your mind?

Musical tastes are about as personal as you can get. Whether it is classical, rap, hip hop, alternative, hard rock, soft rock, country, or even screamo, there are ways that Biblical passages and themes can take flight in your car or ipod. Music doesn’t just have to be about how much you hate the world and how much you like a woman’s booty or whatever. God invented it, you know?

Godly images and reminders have been used throughout our faith history to connect us to the living Christ, as well. From stained glass windows and icons to WWJD bracelets, gospel t- shirts, and yes, for some, tattoos, visual reminders are powerful and significant. We absorb so much through sight that keeps us focused on our walk with Jesus.

Mentors
Connecting with someone who is further along on the path of self-denial and being mentored and encouraged by them is a means that has always been central to renovation. Who is your Yoda? If you are fortunate enough to have a parent in this role, that would be amazing. It can be a peer, but there is nothing like the wisdom of the elder who is experiencing the joy and challenge of the transforming life.

How do you find a mentor? Ask the pastor or other church leader from the Christian community you are connected (get connected with one if you are not) with if they have suggestions. You can judge a potential mentor as one who is encouraging, gracious, and confident in Jesus, and who is authentic in their walk of faith.

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How are we to replace the ideas and images that move us away from God and his ways? We take an active role in our thinking, joining with the influence of the Holy Spirit and seeking the truth for ourselves. There are two aspects of our thinking that make this possible.

Information
1 Thes. 5:19-21 (NLT)
Do not stifle the Holy Spirit. [20] Do not scoff at prophecies, [21] but test everything that is said. Hold on to what is good.

Jesus encourages us to put him to the test. The Christian faith is based on our ability to examine the evidence. We are expected to seek the information that is available to decide for ourselves. The Spirit guides this process, but we are to take the initiative.

Putting the Christian worldview to the test, comparing it to other religions and philosophies, is encouraged. Though not as much the case anymore, Christian schools, colleges and universities have historically been centers of learning to compare and contrast in the search for the truth. Also, God’s desire for us to know his ways is made ultimately clear in the Bible and the fact that it has centrality in informing our faith.

The Bible has been translated into over 2,287 languages thus far, according to the International Bible Society. It is a strong mark of the "God breathed" aspect of the Bible's writing that all cultures in every age are invited to read God’s Word for themselves and examine the evidence. The information is there. Have at it.

Now compare that to a religion like Islam, where the holy book, the Q’uran, is technically only truly the Word of Allah in Arabic. There is no movement to compare and contrast what the Q’uran teaches as relates to other faiths and philosophies. In fact, in many countries where Islamic law reigns, Bibles are not even allowed to be examined, and it can be a crime to talk about the Christian faith.

Other religions have secret books written in obscure ways that make it very difficult to understand their meaning. The God of the Bible wants people to understand. Seeking the truth of Jesus is an active pursuit.

Intelligence
Reason is a gift from God. As we examine the information available in his Word and in the world around us, we have the capability of understanding for ourselves that the Christian worldview is the best view of reality available.

God doesn’t demand our allegiance through blind faith, “because he said so.” No, God invites us into relationship and creates us in his image so we have the ability to relate. He invites us to use the intelligence he gives us to begin thinking why the bad ideas and images that are Satan’s strongest weapons can be replace by the truth of Jesus.

Test this out for yourself.

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How can we have radical transformation through the five aspects of who we are?

We take steps to change what keeps us from becoming like Jesus. We have the capability of doing this as we partner with Jesus and transform on the inside so we might be like Jesus on the outside.

If we go step by step in each of the five areas in detail, what would this process look like? I will use the example of "anger." Note "mind" is divided into thinking and feeling.

My Heart

I may have grown up in a family where anger is normal and “having a bad temper” is expected.

My Mind’s Thoughts
I find reasons why I should be angry about the situation. I make sure I keep focusing on why I have been wronged.

My Mind’s Feelings
I enjoy the rush of emotion that attaches to my anger. It makes me feel so alive.

My Social Relations
I look for ways I can always have the upper hand with my friends and family members so I am the one who gets to lash out at them when the opportunity arises. I try to place them in anxiety-producing situations where they are never really comfortable around me.

My Body

Frowning and scowling are my normal facial characteristics and there is nothing so “good” as to raise my voice or whisper in a bitter tone. I find ways to get the adrenaline flowing and take on a nice red complexion.

My Soul
In all the parts of my being I just keep focusing on my rightness and everyone else’s wrongness. I am like a god of my universe and I am looking for every opportunity to lash out in wrath at those who would question my goodness.

Whew! Glad I got that over with!

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The means to live in God’s Kingdom now is to “fool” every part of our normal self that we can actually be transformed. In football, we would call this an “end around.” If you take the direct approach it almost always fails. Like,

This time I am really going to live a godly life! I am going to quit being an angry person. I am going to be patient and I am going do it- right now!

Whenever we take the direct approach, our whole being cries out, “It can’t be done!” Or, “Who do you think you are?!” Or, “I’ll just die if I follow through on this!!”

How do we go about indirectly impacting ourselves to live the transformed life? The spiritual disciplines that Jesus practiced are the key.

Through silence and solitude, study, worship and such, we are able to focus on what is there in front of us, and it will naturally be used by the Spirit to change us from the inside.

For instance, we don’t say, “From now on I am going to be a loving person,” but rather we say, “I am going to work on becoming the kind of person who can love.” The spiritual disciplines then become the tools that make us available for that transformation.

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With a clear vision of what kingdom life could be for us, what comes next? Intention.

Here is where we start to get bogged down in our spiritual growth. Two things happen. One, we don’t really trust what we say we trust, and two; we don’t really intend to obey what we learn.

1. We must intend to trust Jesus

Here is where thinking it through is so important. There is a whole area of study that is critical to trusting in Jesus. It is called, “Apologetics.” This means, “making a case for,” or “making a defense.” In Christian apologetics, you make a logical case for your faith in Jesus. In my blog, as well as my website, I deal with building confidence in the reasonability of the Christian faith. Why is it important to trust intellectually?

You cannot sustain a living, influential faith in Jesus unless you trust in what he says and does. You cannot thrive as a disciple unless you have confidence that the Bible is the Word of God, Jesus is who he says he is, and the Christian worldview is the most reasonable and rational view of reality there is out of all religions and philosophies.

Sunday School “Jesus loves me this I know” faith does not survive teenage and adult skepticism in a person who is truly testing out their faith. You can get by when times are good, but when crisis and uncertainty hit, which they will, to have confidence in the authenticity of your experience and the evidence of the truth of the Gospel are essential.

The good news is Jesus is totally trustworthy.

2. We must intend to obey Jesus

Christians are not really honest on this point. Often we talk a good faith but we don’t live it. Usually it happens this way:

We focus almost entirely on a God of love and forgiveness.

Yet, God is equally a God of justice and righteousness (right living). The God that totally loves us is the God who totally expects absolute obedience. We emphasize all the accounts in the Bible where Jesus is caring and forgiving but many times we skip over his call for our radical self-denial.

For example, when he tlls the woman who is caught in adultery to, “Go, and sin no more,” he wasn’t winking at her when he said it (John 8:1-11).

We can actually choose not to sin.

We can choose to do what is right.

It is possible to do this in this life. We are already a new creation when we place our trust in Jesus and begin to live in his Kingdom now. We do not have to give in to our old human desires for pleasure and power. The fact that we fail at times and fall back into our sinful human ways doesn’t cancel out the equally truthful fact that we can choose not to sin. Unless we go into this whole enterprise intending to live a transformed life, we will fail before we get started.

We can live our lives as Jesus would live our lives if he were us. He created the means.

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We start with a vision to be a Kingdom person. This is someone who is actively working with God in living a kingdom life. Before we can understand this we need to define “Kingdom.” Dallas Willard defines it this way:

Kingdom of God- the range of God’s effective will

We have confidence that God’s will is done everywhere. Therefore, his Kingdom is infinite because his domain is wherever there is the possibility his choices are accomplished. We pray this frequently.

Thy Kingdom come
Thy Will be done
On earth as it is in heaven

This is the life of our possibility. Where God’s desires and our destiny are identical. We are invited to the greatest cause of the galaxies. To live our lives the way we are designed to live. Think about it this way.

Everyone in the world may be working against God’s Kingdom coming because they have given in to a life of self-worship. Yet, if we are working for the sake of God and others, we are being transformed. As a result, creation itself is being transformed because we choose to follow God’s Kingdom vision.

How could we live in any safer, richer, more joyful place than in the reality of what God wants done? Do you think he can accomplish what he intends to accomplish?

Then I would suggest we all get on God's bus and go for a ride!.

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Sermon 30 August 2009 by Pastor Dana Hansen  
Download now or listen on posterous

Sermon 30 Aug 2009.mp3 (5283 KB)

what I learned about being a disciple from my father…the apprentice is sent out with the authority of the Master Teacher

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What is VIM? Let me use an example.

For most adults, the one area they wish to change more than most others is losing weight. If you take all the weight loss products and all the health club memberships and all the diet books and all the weight loss programs, you are looking at billions of billions of dollars. Yet, most people simply go through a cycle of losing and gaining. Most people never seem to see permanent results. I would argue that most frequent reason for this is they went directly to means without really considering vision and intention.

In vision you think about what you would look like if you lost weight. Would you be more attractive? The bit of narcissism in all of us would enjoy that. Then you think about what you would feel like if you didn’t have to carry around those extra pounds every day. The aches and pains in your joints. Just the overall dragging that goes on by the end of the day. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to face the world as a “lean, mean, fighting machine?” (If you haven’t seen Stripes, do so; classic Bill Murray) Do you have a vision for weight loss?

The vision is not enough. You can’t just sit there daydreaming about how great it would be to lose weight. You can’t just read testimonials. You have to carefully consider what life would be like as a slimmer you. You have to count the cost. Jesus knows that.

Luke 14:28 (NLT)
“But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first getting estimates and then checking to see if there is enough money to pay the bills?”

After this careful consideration, if you are truly ready this time, then you state you intentions. Maybe you confide in a friend that this time you really mean it. You have a vision for weight loss. You have the intention to do what it takes to achieve it. Now, the final step is the easiest. How to do it. The means.

Obesity is most often spiritual at its core. David Housholder, Light You Church On Fire Without Burning It Down, has this to say,

“One only has to think of our grossly overweight society, and the massive trillions spent on resulting medical care trying to cure the symptoms caused by obesity, when there is deep inner pain trying to get covered by overeating.

Why not go right to the cause?”

Healing prayer will deliver a person from this inner pain. Along with this healthy habits follow. Proper diet and exercise, and sleep are important for weight loss. A healthy lifestyle includes these three.

Healing prayer and healthy habits are the means to losing what we are dragging through life.

You can see what vision, intention, and means can do for weight loss. What would it look like to change a whole life? Through VIM you yield yourself to the power of the Holy Spirit for lasting transformation.

What does this look like?

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In order to have lasting transformation, Jesus chooses to partner with us. Dallas Willard says it this way.

Without Jesus I can do nothing, but if I do nothing, it will certainly be without Jesus.

The path of self-denial is a one of cooperation. Not everyone understands this. I am of a faith tradition that so strongly emphasizes grace (God’s free gift of love) that any effort on our part will smack of “works righteousness.” We are trying to earn God’s love if we talk about doing the right things. The spiritual disciplines are not a focal point of life because they seem to be human effort to earn God’s favor.

As a result of this kind of thinking, after we become Christian, we are supposed to just sit back and be transformed through some kind of spiritual osmosis. That is not the reality of Kingdom life, however. By fearing we would have a “heart attack” if we dare speak of doing something to grow in our faith, we become complacent in our non-response. In the faith tradition of many Christians, it becomes a badge of honor not to do anything.

Trouble is, transformation doesn’t happen this way. This is why the lives of most Christians look the same as non-Christians. Without partnering with Jesus, we are on our own. He will not do our self-denial for us. Oh, we do not doubt we will be in heaven with him someday, but he actually wants to work with us in Kingdom living now.

There is another way. Our efforts fall into the category of VIM. “Vim” is defined, ”energy and enthusiasm,” from the Latin vis, meaning “strength.” Dallas uses it as an acronym for Vision, Intention, and Means. Through this three-step process, Jesus transforms us into the kind of people who can do the things he would do if he were us in any situation.

“We don’t do good things so that God loves us. God loves us, and our response of thanksgiving is to do good things.” What does this mean to you?

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