Mindset!

The Dangers of the Greek and Roman Mindset!

The Ear, Heart and Mind!

The Amplified Bible reflects the more robust Hebrew in what Solomon penned.  I also embedded my comments:

Making your

ear

attentive

(My comment: Your ear is the gate to hear the Word of God and the Words of the World)

to skillful 

and

godly Wisdom

(My comment: “…..skillful and godly wisdom meaning the Word of God which directs and guides how to live under His divine authority and power).

and

inclining and directing your

 heart

(My comment: Your heart (spiritual) becomes the well of the wisdom and knowledge of God the Holy Spirit shares with you to keep you and allows you to reflect His Word and Ways to witness and testify of Him and His Kingdom).

and

mind

(My comment: Your mind reflects not only what’s in your mind, but also what is in your heart.  It directs your tongue to what to say and what you say and believe become your habits and way of life).

to understanding

(My comment; Therefore, what you hear, goes into the mind, and what is in the mind reaches the heart, and the heart acts as a filter to create a mindset of a godly focus or a focus on a self independent of God and His Ways).

[applying all your powers to the quest for it];

(My comment: “…..all your powers” meaning, what you hear goes into the mind traveling to the heart and the heart creating a mindset of a dependence on God from the wisdom imparted by God or a dependence on the many temptations from the philosophies - secular and religious of the world).   

Proverbs 2:2 (AMP)

Allow me to add with some repetition. Notice the progression of the mindset of the follower of the Lord….

first  - the ear hears;

second - what the ear hears is godly wisdom;

(My comment: “….godly wisdom - a rare commodity in the America society which explains the apostasy of America).

third - when the ear hears godly wisdom it reaches the mind and can travel to the heart which is the center and essence of the person in terms of disposition, personality, behavior, values, and actions);.

fourth – when godly wisdom captures the mind and heart of the person, it can produce understanding and allow me to add, also godly knowledge and discernment;

fifth – it is expected that the person will take what is in the heart and mind (the characteristics of God – His wisdom, knowledge, and discernment and consistently make them a part of the person’s disposition, personality, behavior, values, and actions).

sixth – when all above is in place, the born-again person becomes a true disciple/servant of the Lord witnessing and testifying to the Gospel of Christ and the Kingdom of God.

   The mindset therefore becomes God focused and not earthly focused.  The mindset has the wisdom of God rather than Humanist Philosophy (without God) of the world.

 The Western Culture and Its Mindset!

The Western culture is built on the foundation of Greek and Roman philosophy of the mind and body apart from godly wisdom. Their philosophy of how life should be lived was far from God, and their heart was empty of the knowledge and fear of the Lord.

Greek and Roman discipline of the mind and body were sought to achieve dominance in knowledge (intellectual and religious (cultic, idols, human sacrifices, etc.), in secular understanding apart from God, in excessive pleasures and coliseum games of death to the loser, in worship of many gods, and in preparation for war and battle leading to conquests making the Greek and Roman Empires perhaps the greatest empires the world has ever seen despite their ungodliness, power hunger, corrupt mindset of fleshly lusts and power, and a lasciviousness of great degree.

Living a Life of Independence from God!

In short, the Greeks and Romans were unable to discipline the heart for their heart was alienated far from the true God of heaven and earth. 

They chose false gods and worshipped them as well as elevating themselves in pride, pomp, and pageantry. They were cultures living a life independent of the Triune God for over one-thousand years. As a result, they languished in the morass of human sin and transgression and moral depravity against the laws of God.

They were a desperate race of people totally blind to the reality of the Creator God of heaven and earth.  They chose the pagan path rather than the path of the God.  It was  a false path which created a false reality of how life should be lived.

They finally disappeared as mighty empires for their religious idolatry of false gods and corrupt mindset could not save them. As mentioned above, their fanfare, grandeur, and power led them astray and eventually into decay and downfall.

I end this section with a very interesting comment by Arnold Toynbee (1889-1975) who was an English historian, a philosopher of history, an author of numerous books and a research professor of international history at the London School of Economics and King’s College London who penned:

“Of the twenty-two civilization that have appeared in history, nineteen of them collapsed when they reached the moral state the United States is in now.”

He wrote this over fifty years ago.  Since the time of his writing, we continue to see a continuing dive into moral declension and moral relativism of a great magnitude causing the fabric of the American society presently being torn from its foundations established by the founding Fathers of the United States.

 Fate of America!

There is a lesson to be learned from the above which needs to be considered by the nations of today. Without the true God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the key mindset of the culture, that culture is headed into decline, ruin, and disappearance according to God’s timetable and His Word.  

They will eventually enter the graveyard of fallen nations never to arise again because they did not fear the one and only true God and His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ?

Will this be the fate of the American republic which now seems to be traveling down the same path of Greece and Rome of long ago?  

  Has America adopted the same mindset of ancient Greek and Roman  nations (2 of the 19 nations of history which have collapsed) which can lead to its own decline and fall? 

The survival rate for a nation without the fear of God is like living on edge of a cliff about to fall into the valley of darkness and lostness better known as “Hell.”

“IF” My People?

But take heart dear friend for it may not be too late for the Lord of heaven says to us....

 If My people

(My comment – “….My people”  meaning the people who belong to God).

 who are called by My name, 

(My comment – “.....My name” – referring to Himself as God – the one and only true  God – the  mighty God of heaven and earth – the Mighty One or Supreme One).

shall

humble themselves,

 pray,

seek,

 crave, 

and

require of necessity

My face

(My comment – “….My face meaning the presence of Elohim)."

 and 

turn from their

wicked ways,

 then will I hear from heaven,

 forgive 

their sin,

 and 

heal their land. 

(My comment: “…..heal their land” meaning to bring divine intervention

 and

 deliverance from evil as well as restoration of God’s righteousness, justice, mercy, and forgiveness)  

 2 Chronicles 7:14 (AMP)

 It is not the pagans who are called to pray, seek, and crave the presence of the sovereign God who sits on His Thone in heaven judging the plight of the nations along with the His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

God says to His people - "My people who are called by My name” – by no other name – a people of His who need to "turn from their wicked ways" -  meaning they are not in a good place with the Lord. 

They are constantly under His scrutiny and calling. They will either hear, listen, and heed His call or perish in their own folly and ignorance, allowing their own ways to replace His Ways. Their mindset is flawed and does not reflect God’s intent for their lives.  They walk backwards from the Lord rather than walking toward Him.

God says, “If they call on Me" indicating there is a distance between Him and His people. If there was not a distance, there would be no “If.” So, there is a question that if His people can hear and listen when the Lord speaks and then submit and obey what He is calling them to do, then they can forgo His rebuke and avoid His judgment.

My friend, this applies to all churches in America.  It is not business in the church as usually but a divine call by the Lord to 2 Chronicles 7:14.  It is the most important last day call of the Lord. Eother accept the call or reject the call.

“Rabbit Trails!”

If they (the church) are not seriously seeking Him, perhaps they have become lax in their relationship with Him and allowing the world to move on them and pulling them away from Him, His commandments, and His Written Word. 

Perhaps they have gone down the many “rabbit trails” of following false prophets and teachers, adopting a life of self-elevation and popularity, swimming in materialism and mammon, adding and subtracting from the Word of God, preaching milk toast sermons causing no conviction and turning from sin and evil ways as well as becoming “lukewarm” toward God and just going through the motions of acting piously with no real inner convictions of growing and maturing in the Lord.

“Neither Cold nor Hot!”

Sad to say, in such a position of "lukewarmness," they are not hearing from the heavenly council to recognize their pitiful position as described in the Laodicean church in the Book of Revelation, Chapter 3:14-22 which Jesus was on the outside knocking on the door of the church describing them as

“…..neither cold or hot…..

but wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked…..

I am about to spit you out of my mouth….”

Revelation 3:14-22)

Three Questions! 

(1)  Has spiritual apathy and complacency set in and neutralized the churches in America where there is little or no true repentance emerging because of the wickedness in the churches and the nation?  

(2)   Where are the apostles, prophets, evangelist, pastors and teachers  who need to bring the "fire" of God into the sanctuary of God to call the people to repentance and asking forgiveness for their way-waywardness and spiritual laziness?

(3)   How can God bring healing to the church and to the land of the pagans if there is no calling out to Him from a spirit and heart of repentance, brokenness and sorrow for sin from His people?   

Broken Mindset!

When the mindset is set on the business of the world and its playground of attractions where the flesh is indulged to participate, the mindset comes to be consumed away from the righteousness and holiness of God which we are now witness in the land of America.

Getting Away from the Playgrounds of the World!

When Moses went up the mountain and saw the bush on fire but nothing being consumed, God spoke and told Moses to remove his shoes for his shoes represented the world and he was standing on holy ground.

  He needed to be consumed by the holiness and righteousness of His God.  He needed to lose the smell of the world and be cleansed by the “fire” of His holy God. 

His mission for God needed the “fire” of God to purge, refine, and purify Moses.  In other words, God had to replace the old mindset learned in the Egyptian culture to a new mindset birthed through the “fire” of Almighty God.”

The church needs to climb the mountain of God and come before Him and remove their shoes of sinful flesh and a fleshly mindset.  They need to call on the Lord 24/7 and humble themselves and seek His face for them to hear and be able to listen to the Lord. 

They need to take on a new mindset of holiness to replace their wickedness and self-absorption of evil ways masking as “good religious things to do” but are only wood, hay, and stubble which have no value in the sight of God.

Restoration and Reformation!

There is no other way for the land of America to experience divine healing of restoration of the church and reformation of the culture so badly needed at this time but only through putting in place 2 Chronicles 7:14 which is God’s new mindset for His last day church.  Otherwise, the outlook for America looks very dim and dark.

Rich Arnold

Servant of the Lord

311 Adelaide Ave SW

Hartville, Ohio 44632

330-704-9306

richarnold3@gmail.com