As we consider what it means to renew our mind we must also consider the power of truth. Renewing the mind is centred around Gods word which is truth, and that then tells us that to effectively renew our minds, we must understand the power of truth, not just in the word of God, but also in our own lives.

Let’s start by looking at 3 John (2) again, “ Beloved I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health , just as your soul prospers”. In this introduction and prayer of John, he establishes several very important truths for the Christian. Obviously John would not pray something that was contrary to the will of God. So John prays that they would prosper and be in health and so we need to understand the truth that God does want us to prosper and he does want us to live in health. Now of course circumstances can invade that truth but it is still clearly Gods will for us to enjoy those benefits.

So if we consider the truth of Gods word we could also say that poverty and sickness are not the truth or will of God for our lives. – We should not feel condemned if our current experience is negative but we should begin to align our thinking to Gods truth.

RENEWING THE MIND KEY #13

God created you to prosper and be healthy, not poor and sick.

John goes on to explain how we can prosper and be healthy when he says as  our soul prospers. All success for the Christian begins on the inside. In Mathew 12 (35) we are told, “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things”. It goes on to say that a bad man – bad treasure – bad things. So what makes the man good? It’s the good treasure that he has put in to his soul. Why does he do good things? Because he has stored up good treasure. From this we can be certain that what ever treasure we store up ( what we think, what we believe, what we speak ) will effect directly the patterns and outcome of our lives.

In fact we could put any word in this passage that we want and it will become true. A negative man out of the negative treasure of his heart will bring forth negative things! The same would be for generous, positive, angry etc etc.

Knowing this is incredibly liberating as it shows us that by tapping into Gods truth we can determine the life we live in the future.

But on the other hand, if we buy into the lie that things outside of us are controlling the outcomes of our lives, we enter into bondage. So many people really think that if the government was different or if they had had this opportunity or if this hadn’t happened then life would be different. But that opinion is not based on truth, the truth is that if we build prosperity and health on the inside that becomes the outcome of our lives.

Now of course certain difficulties can come our way from the outside, from beyond our plans but how we deal with them determines whether or not we allow those things to define us and defeat us. When outside circumstances define us we become victims and get trapped in a negative cycle of thinking. But if we believe the truth of Gods word and we are building the correct treasure, we will understand that circumstances are temporary and we will overcome them.

3 John (3-4) says, “For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth”. Here John shows us that the foundation of a prosperous soul is truth. The truth was in them and they walked in that truth. In John 8 (31-32) we are told, “ If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know my truth and the truth will make you free”. Then in John 17 (17) we read, “ Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth”.

Only when we have heard, received and renewed our minds to Gods word are we full of the truth. The foundation of a prosperous soul is and must be the word of God because that is truth.

Proverbs 4 (20-23) reads, “ My son , give attention to my words; Incline your ears to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those that find them, And health to all their flesh. Keep you heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life”. This passage again tells us the importance of Gods word and also tells us where the issues of life come from – within. So to renew our minds, to have a prosperous soul we need work on the treasure we are building into the soul part of our heart. 

RENEWING THE MIND KEY #14

God’s word is the truth, which is the basis for all success in life.

So for us to be effective and have a prosperous soul we must love the truth and allow the truth in us to guide us. This means we don’t lie, we don’t use empty flattery to manipulate people, we don’t exaggerate the truth to create gain for ourselves and we don’t buy into the lie that half truths are ok. In reality all of these things are lies and are in direct contrast to what creates a prosperous soul. There are some that think that a little lie is harmless but who’s measure is that based on, and do we think God really categorises lies into big, medium and small. Of course not! In fact when we lie it is ourselves that are disadvantaged the most as it stops our soul from prospering and it is this half hearted approach to truth that robs many Christians of their inheritance.

When a person has a have a half hearted approach to the truth, they by default have a half hearted relationship with God. And even though those people will say they believe the bible and worship etc, often their walk is based on circumstance. If things are going well then they believe and when they are not they don’t. All of these things are symptoms of a soul that is not prospering.

RENEWING THE MIND KEY #15

To have the truth in us is to live it every day.

Jesus says that He wants us hot or cold, not lukewarm, in fact He says that if we are lukewarm He will spew us out of His mouth. The best way for us to ensure that we are hot is to abide in His word, His truth. If we don’t do that we are effectively abiding in the devils word and believing, speaking and living a lie. The primary weapon that the enemy uses against us who believe, is to lie. And when we believe his deception over the truth of Gods word, our souls no longer prosper and our lives fall short of Gods great plans for our lives.