The New Man

I have been listening to a lot of people talking lately about whether or not they are saved and how they view their relationship with God. Some believe they are just simply because they think that once you just say the magic words that it automatically gives you a free pass in to heaven. Some feel that they were saved at one time but they fell on their faces because of some situation or thing that made them feel alone and abandoned and so one thing led to another and they just faded away. Some think that if you drink enough alcohol or take enough drugs you'll have a mountain top experience and be enlightened by what they think is God into a better way of conscience.

But the bible says:
17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart;19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Does anyone know what futility means ?

1 : the quality or state of being futile : uselessness
2 : a useless act or gesture

The way that the bible uses the word in this scripture to say is that we should not walk with useless thinking guiding our path and thought processes. When you have a futile mind you are not completely processing the information that your brain is receiving. It is distorted and corrupted so what you take in is basically useless and unprofitable mentally, spiritually and productively.

Do you think that futility can have an impact on your life ?

Well the scriptures says that it does, it has a huge impact that is destructive to the one who gives their thinking over to it. There are six things that futile mind will foster and cause to grow from every individual.

1. It makes your thinking darkened.
2. It alienates you from God.
3. It hardens your heart.
4. It makes you give into lewd acts and depravity.
5. It makes you greedy and unfulfilled.
6. It causes poverty and hardship

1. Your Thinking Darkened:

When your thinking is in a state of mind that is disagreeable and challenging there is no room for growth because you become closed off and unteachable. People with futile minds form a belief system based on what is comfortable for them at that moment. They adhere strongly to that belief because it requires the least amount of effort and sacrifice on their part. People will always take the path of least resistance. The problem with that kind of belief system is that it is usually based on hearsay instead of actual facts. The bibles says that in the last days that would be a huge problem.

Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. 1 Timothy 4:1

Lets see if that prophecy in I Timothy turned out to be true.

One Example:

In the last fifty years the youth in a lot of countries have been so influenced by movie and rock starts that Wicca is now huge throughout the world- what is Wicca ? Wicca is a watered down deceptive form of witchcraft.

Wicca (IPA: /'w?k?/ ) is a neopagan , nature-based religion popularised in 1954 by Gerald Gardner , a retired British civil servant, who at the time called it Witchcraft and its adherents "the Wica".[1] He said that the religion, of which he was an initiate , was a modern survival of the witch cult , an old mystery religion that had existed in secret for hundreds of years, originating in the pre-Christian paganism of Europe

Wiccans, as followers of Wicca are now commonly known, typically worship a God[3] (traditionally the Horned God ) and a Goddess (traditionally the Triple Goddess ),who are sometimes represented as being a part of a greater pantheistic Godhead ,
and as manifesting themselves as various polytheistic deities. Other characteristics of Wicca include the ritual use of magic , a liberal code of morality and the celebration of eight seasonal-based festivals .Wiccans believe that what they do is part of what God does because they convince people that God is the same God in the bible. As you can see they try to shadow the Trinity of God with their Triple Goddess who they try to confuse people into believeing is the real One ,True God. You can see plainly that it is nothing more than a deception.

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man. Romans 1:20-23

2. Futile thinking alienates you from God:

You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: "He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us"? James 4:3-5

This scripture is a perfect example of the mentality that men have when it comes to God. They think that whenever things are going bad they can pray and then as soon as things start to go good again they can go back to their sinful ways.But friendship with the world and the sins of the world alienates you from God so that when you pray you are just praying into the air because God requires you to live in His ways and not the ways of the world because Satan is the Prince of the Power of the Air and He
is allowed to be able to destroy you until you submit your heart to God. That's why he is called the Destroyer.

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Who ever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
John 12:24-26

3. Futile thinking hardens your heart.

Today science has started a campaign to prove Christianity is a religion for poor uneducated people. They have introduced theories that they themselves have no way of proving, like the Theory of Evolution. They like to say that some DNA was floating in a pond or lake somewhere and all the sudden a lightning bolt started a one cell life form. But with all the technology they have they have never been able to make that happen after thousands of failed attempts. Finally just recently they have had to admit that there has to be some kind of intelligent behind the origin to make it even work because there had to be an intelligent DNA mapping to make it work. But they refuse to call that intelligence God.

Why do you think that is ?

Because their ego and intelligence won't allow them to admit that they cannot think like God or be like God.

4. Futility makes you give in to lewd and immoral behaviors:

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality,[ ] wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them . Romans 1:28-32

Futility makes you make choices that you would never make if things were working properly in your life. It has a way of making you feel sorry for yourself and defeated with little hope.

Because you once felt that way about yourself you give into things that you feel will cover up the pain like sexual immorality, alcohol and drugs and try to mask the problems with self-destructive behaviors. But as you go along you feel worthless and empty inside so you do more of the same hoping it will go away, but it never does. Before you know it there's a big, heavy and annoying monkey on your back that you don't think you can get rid of. But you can.

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others. Ephesians 2:1-3

There is good news, you can be made alive again, you don't have to keep on putting yourself through the torment that you have become so accustom to and you can be set free.

5. Futile thinking makes you greedy and unfulfilled:

What causes fights and quarrels among you?Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want some thing but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. James 4:1-3

Do you think that there has to be a lot of money involved for someone to be greedy and unfulfilled ?

Do rich people who are greedy want more and more ?

Are all rich people greedy ?

You don't have to be rich to be greedy. There is constant drama every day here in this park. Someone is always doing some thing to someone else, stealing from one person to the next, back and forth, they see something they want and they either lie or rip it off to get it. Most of the time it is so insignificant, that most people wouldn't even give it a thought, if it weren't for the fact that the people who are doing these things are so broke. But even then it isn't right. You have to care about your worth more than that, you have to say that those kinds of things are below your standards. You have to raise your standards up to bring yourself up and not lower your expectations of yourself. Sometimes you loose your way, but that's when you need to draw on the strengths of others to help you get up.

6. It causes poverty and hardships:

Is that true ? You know it is. But you have to make up your mind to change it. People who are Drug, Alcohol and Compulsive Dependent are afraid of the one thing, it scares them the worst.

What do you think that is ?

It's called change. They get so used to living in the small existence that they have made for themselves, that if you confront them they feel like they are cornered and start back peddling.

How many times have I offered a way out of this mess to people and they have turned me down ?

They always tell me the aren't ready but the real truth is that they are afraid. They are worried about what they have to quit doing and what they are going to have to do and because they have become so comfortable with the way they are they don't even want to try.

Where does fear come from ?