Life has a funny way of coming full circle. We come into this world alone, & we exit it alone. Once we are born though, we need assistance & the same when we age. The peak or zenith point of our existence is undoubtedly having the mind of Christ! In order to understand the future, we need to go back to the beginning.

Key words in God’s original plan in Genesis are

1. Let us make man in our own image.  Identity confirmed
2. Then God blessed them. Natural state of God transferred to Human.
3. God said… Communication is initiated by God
4. …be fruitful & multiply. The laws of productivity & multiplicity are introduced.
5. …fill the Earth & subdue it. Subdue’s root word comes from peace, calm & sooth.
   1. As numbers increase, God says be calm, have peace & sooth each other.
6. Have dominion over fish, birds & every living thing that moves.
   1. Responsibility is given with power (authority)
7. Have given you every herb as food.
   1. God made us self-sustaining (physically not spiritually)
8. God saw everything He made and it was good so He rested.
   1. Man’s 1st day was a day of rest to reflect that everything man needs was given freely by God.
9. God put man in the garden and says tend & keep it.
   1. The word attendance comes from tend.
   2. Keep means own it.
10. Of every tree, you may freely eat but the tree of knowledge of good & evil will cause you to die.
    1. Boundary comes with a choice.
    2. One is free & the other is not.
    3. The power to choose, the will to obey or disobey is given to man. (life is all about choices)
    4. God did not create a robot but a free creature born in His image.

What happened at the FALL?

Ever wonder why God’s 1st question was “where are you?”

Our emotions have the power to move us out of God’s way or will. Emotion means internal motion. The way we think can derail us from the blessing that God freely gives to us.

What they ate was not an apple but a knowledge or an idea of evil. It was the mind of evil. It was in them & that knowledge brought chaos into humanity.

They hid from God because they viewed God not for who He truly is but for who they thought He was,

“For as man thinks in his heart, so is he.”Proverbs 23:7

They were physically in the garden but in their hearts, they were away from God.

God: Where are you Adam?

Adam: I heard Your voice (mind you this is the same voice that created him, gave him identity, blessed him and gave him dominion) & I was afraid (emotional breakdown always starts with fear) because I was naked (he becomes self-aware for the 1st time, also why would he be afraid of being naked?, guilt & condemnation are introduced into the human race) so I hid myself (separation & self-preservation follow right after but there is more.)

God: Who told you, you were naked? (God covers & evil accuses) The devil accuses God & man in turn accuses God & one another. Do you see the pattern or trait?

Adam: The woman You gave me, influenced me & I ate. (Self says I am innocent but the woman & You God are guilty)

Eve: The serpent DECIEVED me & I ate. (Deception is the essence of the devil).

“He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him.”John 8:44

The mind of Christ is the only mind that was free of deception & now is ours.

This is why the bible says the truth will set you free!

Free from:

chaos, being ruled by emotions, accusation, self, shame, confusion, hate, guilt, condemnation, the illusion that God is not good, division, feeling alone, hiding ourselves, paranoia, failure, insecurity, inferiority, strife, restlessness, pride.

1st sermon of Jesus Christ:
‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives & recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’

Read His words carefully & He is completely restoring our mind set.

We are referred to as poor because we were robbed at the garden. We were moved by our emotions from the truth & are still in some state of shame & don’t fully get how good our God is.

He goes on to say liberty to the captives & recovering of sight. He uses the prefix “Re” a lot because He is taking us back (rewinding) to the original way of thinking. Recover, Redeem, Repent, Renew & so on.

He ends His sermon saying “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing & your presence.”

The mind of Christ is fulfilled by hearing just like God’s blessing in the beginning started with hearing. The devil also used deception by engaging Eve’s hearing.

1. Who has your ear today?

Whom you hear has the ability to control you.

This is where dominion starts…stop listening to everyone. Don’t engage people that don’t speak the word of God & even when they do, learn to discern the heart behind it. There’s a verse that says God detests gossip. A house of God should be gossip free & miracle aplenty. Make it your goal to unclutter your mind & bring every thought to question. You will be surprised many bad decisions we make by all the baggage & burden we carry around. I pray we are ruled by what God says & may our own understandings be replaced by His thoughts for His ways are greater. In Jesus name, Amen!

BY FINNEY ARAYA