Mindsets to be Destroyed

If the Body of Christ is to make it into the kingdom, the following mindsets must be eradicated from it:

1. Wantonness - A lust for material things, ministry, control, authority or flesh.
2. Pride - Self exaltation that is manifested in self righteousness or judgmentalism.
3. Greed- A desire to have more, causing you to strive unlawfully to obtain it.
4. Covetousness - Idolatry: to fix the desire upon, to long for or lust after.
5. Jealousy - A state of being resentful and suspicious of one you think enjoys an advantage over you.
6. Selfishness - Wanting what you want, when you want it, even at someone’s expense.
7. Fear - An emotion that arises with the awareness of an approaching danger.
8. Unforgiveness - Refusing to remove the penalty of another’s sins. A battle to keep hurt, disappointments and pain alive.
9. Doubt and unbelief - Rejecting a proven or known truth; not accepting what is evidently true

WANTONNESS AND PRIDE

Consider the scripture below:

2 Peter 2:17-19

17 These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the midst of darkness is reserved for ever.

18 For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.

19 While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the servants of corruption: for of whom a man is overcome, of the same is he brought in bondage.

A well is expected to have water for someone who is thirsty to drink from, and anyone who is thirsty will be drawn to it, in hopes that it will contain something to quench their thirst. But if that well has no water, then it has nothing to offer someone who is thirsty, and leaves them in despair. The apostle Peter is likening false teachers and prophets to “wells without water.” They deceive the people of God by promising them liberty; but that is a promise that they cannot fulfill, because they themselves are servants of corruption. They are in bondage themselves and therefore have no freedom to dispense to those who seek it. They seduce God’s people with sermons that appeal to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Their messages inspire a pursuit for worldly gain, and encourage the church to adopt the ways and mindsets of those who live in error (sinners) to achieve it.

The ‘faith and prosperity’ doctrine has kept wantonness alive in the church. This doctrine ministers that it is the will of God for the church to abound in material things, ministry, control and authority despite their negative spiritual disposition. It also undermines the doctrine of contentment, because rather than telling the saints to delight in the state that they find themselves in, it tells them to change their circumstances if they are not satisfied. It does not include suffering as a part of the will of God for His children, and in so doing, makes it acceptable for saints to duck and dodge their trials. But this is not the mind of Christ.

The apostle Paul makes it clear:

1 Timothy 6:3-6

3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;

4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings,

5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.

Our only response to those who equate gain with godliness is to withdraw ourselves from them. When we encourage and partake in wantonness, it strengthens self exaltation and self preservation. These are operations of pride. A person who walks in pride does not like to be taken advantage of, overlooked, made to feel unimportant, or not in control. God hates pride and He resists the proud, but He gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 6:17; James 4:6).

God is faithful to send His word to destroy lust, pride, greed, and all other harmful mindsets that have wounded the church. These negative ways cause us to walk unlawfully and disqualify us from inheriting eternal life. The word of God comes to get to the source (the root of bitterness) of wantonness and pride that is lodged in the heart. It certainly does not feel good and can be compared to cutting a foreign object out of a wound. When a surgeon takes a scalpel and incises a wound, it is indeed painful, but once the foreign object is removed, the healing process begins. This is what the Word of God does when it confronts these negative mindsets. It pierces through the deeds, words and behaviors of an individual, and digs up old hurts and disappointments. These are often the source of wantonness and pride. These roots of bitterness must be removed; otherwise, those hurts and disappointments will surface again in the form of other negative mindsets.

It is important to recognize the purpose of God when this happens. He is not seeking to deliberately inflict pain by exposing a person’s vulnerabilities; but He is identifying them so that they can be examined in light of the truth. You must acknowledge the fact that somewhere along the way, you decided to embrace a way of thinking that wasn’t inspired by God. After repeatedly rejecting the conviction of the Holy Ghost and believing a lie about yourself, your circumstances, situations and relationships, you now have a mindset that you use to define you. Just as it was easy to repeatedly choose the lie, it is equally as easy to accept the truth. You must come into agreement with God that these mindsets are foreign to the new creation that you are, and renounce them.

As sons of God, we must want nothing from this world. We have been equipped to live this way because we do not need anything from this world. We have received the divine nature, which contains everything that we need pertaining to life and godliness. Everything that it takes to satisfy a son of God is freely accessible in the Holy Ghost. This is the truth that must be embraced wholeheartedly, to rid yourself of any negative mindset. Your salvation is the proof that everything you need to walk in righteousness, peace or joy, is found in the Holy Ghost, who resides within you. When you got filled with the Spirit of God, you desired nothing from this world. Surrendering yourself to this knowledge unleashes the power of the grace of God in your life. This influence is more powerful than any pain, heartache and suffering that you will endure; and it will comfort you as you walk free of these mindsets.