One story in Numbers illustrates this truth very well. "The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 'Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel (Numbers 13:1)." It is important to notice that God promises the Israelites the promise land. They send 1 leader of each of the 12 tribes as per God's instructions. All of these leaders knew that God had promised to give them victory. . . lets read further! After visiting the promise land the 12 men return to give their report. "But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, 'Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it (30)." Two of the spies, including Caleb showed no hesitation in stepping forth into what was promised them. But as we see, they were outnumbered and were not given heed. The other men responded to Caleb saying, "'We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.' So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, 'The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. . . . . . and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them (31-33).'"
We see here two kinds of people, or in other words two kinds of reasoning. Ten of the spies were using human reasoning. They saw that the people of Canaan were bigger and that the Israelite's would not be able to overthrow them. Caleb on the other hand was certain that they could conquer them. what is the difference? Caleb remembered and had faith in the promise of God, whereas the other men were relying solely on their own strength. Caleb reasoned based on God's promise rather than on their worldly circumstance. We can see this in many other stories including Gideon and his 300 warriors (Judges 7) and David when he defeated Goliath (1 Samuel 17). Paul recognizes this reality and tries to teach it to the church at Corinth; "And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Cor. 12:9-10). Paul is not saying he boasts in his sin, but he is saying that God is so much bigger than anything that he would not be able to overcome himself.
"Set your mind on things above not on the things that are on Earth (Colossians 3:2)." "For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God (Romans 8:6-8)." Having a renewed mind means to have faith! "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen (Hebrews 11:1)." Paul says to the Romans that someone who has a mindset on the flesh cannot please God! In Hebrews 11:6 it says that those who do not have faith cannot please him! Why? Because if we do not have faith then we will view the world through a lens of hopelessness and despair. We will only do the things we are confident in ourselves to do; and just like the ten spies who came out of Canaan with unbelief int heir hearts, we too will not enter into the promises God has for us. Having faith implies having faith that God can do the impossible and impractical! "You know your mind has been renewed when the impossible looks logical." -Bill Johnson
"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2)." We prove God's will when we have a renewed mind! How? We have faith in God's promises which pushes us into situations that move God to supernaturally intervene. If God's will is not being proven, then people are not seeing Him, and that means people are not getting to know Him! "To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through TRUE KNOWLEDGE of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and very magnificent PROMISES, sot that by them you may become partakers of the DIVINE NATURE, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust (2 Peter 1:1-4)."
It is imperative that we take on the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16), that we think from heavens perspective (2 Cor. 5:16). The Old Covenant reality about God's thoughts being above our thoughts is over (Isaiah 55:9), now we live in the new covenant reality where God is aligning our minds with His! "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but int hose taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words (1 Cor. 2:12-13)." Ask God to renew your mind! Ask him to give you His thoughts, His wisdom, and His heart! Heavenly breakthrough comes when we step out with a renewed, faith filled, mind. God's power is shown when we have faith in his promises and step out to prove them!
Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen (Ephesians 3:20-21)!!
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