OUTLINE:
Jn 4:32
But He said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.”
Gal 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, SELF-CONTROL; against such things there is no law.
1Co 9:27
but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
Transcendence
When something is transcendent/divine, it means that nothing beneath it has the ability to make it falter. For example, if we’re sustained by spiritual food, we don’t have cause to seek joy in physical food (or any other earthly provision).
Ac 20:35
remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed (happy) to give than to receive.'”
Php 3:19 [Amplified]
whose fate is destruction, whose god is their belly [their worldly appetite, their sensuality, their vanity], and whose glory is in their shame—who focus their mind on earthly and temporal things.
Joy Incremental
The more we love and live for others, the more joy we will receive, being delivered from bondage to self in the process!
Php 4:7And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Eph 3:19and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
Flee From Distractions
The cure for distraction (aka “spiritual ADHD”) is surrender. God essentially has said, “You just need to submit to MY means of salvation/deliverance and I’ll take care of the rest!”
“gold refined by fire”
Most likely refers to righteousness and/or faith, ala “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). In other words, take in the Word of God!!! That is Christ’s good counsel.
True humility begins/ends with submission to the Word of God.
READ YOUR BIBLE!!!
Do NOT be deceived by sin into thinking that Jesus Christ was a liar! His most poignant/targeted advice was always to take in the Word of Truth. There are NO substitutes!
We trust HIM, not our feelings.
PROTECT YOUR MIND!
Ro 8:6 [Amplified]
Now the mind of the flesh is death [both now and forever—because it pursues sin]; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace [the spiritual well-being that comes from walking with God—both now and forever];
Ro 8:7-8 [Amplified]
the mind of the flesh [with its sinful pursuits] is actively hostile to God. It does not submit itself to God’s law, since it cannot, and those who are in the flesh [living a life that caters to sinful appetites and impulses] cannot please God.
The Deceitfulness of Sin
Sin’s end game is to thwart the will of God. The most effective way to do this is to insert false knowledge into the mind, thus defiling the conscience.