1 Peter 1:13 ~ Mind Control

(1Pe 1:13 NKJV) Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the Grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Welcome. 

Today's Word is going to be from First Peter chapter 1, verse thirteen. Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the Grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  Heavenly Father, we thank you for your Holy Word. Father, we ask that you give us wisdom and understanding as we read, study and learn. In Jesus mighty name, we pray, amen.  

So today we're going to take a look at the advice that Peter gave us, and we're going to break it down word by word, so that, that way we can get a better understanding of this particular scripture, but also to see why it's important, as well as how it's practical in our lives today.  So as we dive into this, let's take a look at the words that Peter did use. Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind.  The King James Version uses this word gird 26 times or in 26 verses.  Whereas the new King James only 18, the ESV only uses it 4, and the NLT doesn't use it at all.  To gird something is basically to band, to bind or to wrap.  And what are we to band, bind or wrap, the loins of our mind.  So now let's dig into that word loins. You know, there are several passages throughout the Bible 26, most of which refer to girding the loins.  If we look at the word loins, loins are a procreative or a generative power. [...1.4s] And with that being said, basically if it's the loins of our mind, what Peter's referring to is the generative portion of our mind that allows us to generate thoughts.Right. So we need to wrap up and control our thought creating process. The Bible tells us and Paul tells us that we are all to be of one mind. Um, [...0.6s] we should be following the same [...1.0s] gospel. Um. A divided house does not stand.Therefore, guard up the loins of your minds. We're to wrap where to take control of the thought creating processes of our minds. So what are we guarding our mind with?So we'll go back to Ephesians, and Paul helps us out with that. Paul says in Ephesians 6 and verse 14, stand therefore, having guarded your waist with truth, [...1.5s] having put on the breastplate of righteousness. And in the King James Version, it says, having guarded [...0.5s] your loins with truth. What did Jesus tell us?I am the way, [...1.1s] the truth, [...0.6s] and the life. No one comes to the father, but through me, glory be to the way. I'm a god. So we are to wrap our generative portion of our mind, our thought processes, wrap it up in truth [...0.6s] so that we are of one mind.As Paul says, one of the most important reasons we should [...0.6s] gird or rap [...1.4s] our mind is because scripture tells us all the way back to Genesis, it tells us that our imagination, the thoughts we have [...0.6s] are horrible, and it amazes me sometimes when you hear people say Jesus knows my heart. [...1.9s]Yes, he does. That's highly unfortunate for you in most cases. Well, pretty much in all cases, that's highly unfortunate for you.  Genesis 6 and 5 says, then the Lord saw that the wickedness of men was great in the earth, [...0.7s] and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart [...1.1s] was only evil continually.We can also take a look at Jeremiah 16 and 12, [...0.6s] uh, for more about the imagination of our heart. It says, and you have done worse than your father's for behold.Each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to me. [...1.1s] That's probably not the best place or portion to be in, not listening to god, following the [...0.6s] desires of your heart.The Bible says [...0.6s] my people perish [...1.0s] from a lack of knowledge, a lack of wisdom. So if we are not locking down [...1.3s] our entry points, [...1.9s] we are leaving avenues for the devil to creep in and attack. We leave ourselves vulnerable mostly because we're lazy, [...1.6s] mostly because, hey, Sunday service every Sunday, Jesus knows my heart.And that being said people with a genie Jesus mentality, they will most likely hear [...1.1s] those words that they're not gonna Wanna hear. [...1.1s]Depart from me. I never knew you, you workers of iniquity. If you are a genie, Jesus, he knows my heart, Christian, [...0.6s] you do not have enough oil stored up for what's coming, but they think wholeheartedly that they are servants of the Lord. [...1.7s]It's unfortunate though that they get misled, [...0.6s] because if you are a Sunday only service Christian, you do not have enough oil stored up for what's coming. [...1.0s]And it's unfortunate because a lot of those people [...1.4s] will be a portion of that revelation that says there will be a great falling away from the faith, because things are gonna come to them.And they're not gonna be able to be mentally stable to handle the fact that [...0.6s] September 23rd, 2025, Scotty did not beat them up. Then in their minds, they have to take a hit and re reconcile.Why did my genie Jesus not beam me out of here? I'm better than that. The Bible says it is not appointed unto me for wrath.That is not what the Bible says, but that's probably what that pastor that one Sunday every week that you listen to told you [...1.6s] right after he said we're passing around the plate, please fill it up.So [...0.6s] our discernment [...1.4s] needs to grow, [...0.6s] our ability to read the word of god needs to grow, [...1.4s] our [...1.4s] ideas [...1.0s] need to be put in God's hands.Lord Jesus give us the strength, give us the knowledge, give us the word of wisdom [...0.7s] from the Holy Spirit, the word of knowledge from the Holy Spirit, the discernment from the Holy Spirit, even the faith [...0.6s] from the Holy Spirit in the measure according to what he [...0.6s] decides to give, as it tells us in Corinthians.So as we're guarding the loins of our mind in truth, [...1.4s] our Bible tells us to prove all things [...1.1s] and improving all things. We should be proving them against the truth, the word that is the Lord Jesus Christ, [...1.1s] because that is [...0.6s] the absolute. There is no other truth [...0.8s] that is not the word of god.Our Bible also tells us to study to show ourselves approved [...1.1s] to rightly divide the word of god, so that we're not just [...0.6s] taking this [...0.8s] and making it what it's not.There are a lot of people out there that will mislead. The problem is we have a tendency to have a genie Jesus mentality [...1.1s] that [...0.8s] has to match our mind or what Sunday Service told us about. And it's not because god wants any to perish, but it tells us my people perish from a lack of wisdom. What did he say in Jeremiah is your worse than your father's?You do what you wanna do, and you don't listen to me, [...1.5s] but you'll be the first person like they did in the exodus, right. They're like, Woohoo, we get to get out of Egypt, glory be to the Lamb of god, so they move them out right, and what's the first thing they do for the 40 years?Complain, complain, complain complain Moses, did you bring us out here to die from a lack of food? Did you bring us? Oh, wait, man, I from, did you bring us out here to die from a lack of water?Oh, wait, did you bring us out here? [...1.7s] That's the heart [...1.3s] of men, let's look at John chapter 1, [...1.2s] and John chapter 1, it says in the beginning was the word, [...0.5s] and the word was with god, [...0.6s] and the word was god. Verse 14, and the word became flesh [...0.6s] and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory. The glory as of the only begotten [...0.7s] of the father, full of Grace [...0.8s] and truth.So this holy word that is Jesus Christ, is the truth we are to wrap ourselves, so that we are of one mind in the body of Christ, glory be to the Lamb of god.So let's take a look at what else Peter was telling us, because he says Gir the loins of our mind, we already know the mind of men is inherently wicked.In addition, Peter tells us what he says be sober. So to be sober is to abstain or to, kind of stay away from anything, anything that's gonna actually alter you, [...1.0s] not to be wild, to be overly passionate, not to be mad or insane. Another one says not under the influence of passion.So being sober means again, be in control, [...0.6s] so to guard the loins of our mind, right? We're in control and taking control of our mind and our thoughts.Being sober also implies being in control, but that's more of a being in control of our entire being, [...0.8s] not what enters into a man that defiles him, [...0.5s] but what comes out, right, so what are we displaying [...1.3s] with our one mind as the body of Christ? [...1.9s] Do our fruits show that we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ [...1.0s] or no? [...2.3s]Peter also tells us [...0.6s] in Chapter 5 [...1.0s] and verse 8, [...0.7s] be sober, be vigilant [...0.8s] for your adversary. The devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.So [...0.8s] if we are not sober and we are not in control, [...0.6s] we are subject [...1.7s] to the devil's [...1.2s] interference. So now we know. Guard the loins of your mind. Wrap them up. Hold them tight. Protect them. Be sober. [...1.1s] Because believe it or not, your flesh and bone is not alonealone.  You will either be guided by the Holy Spirit or by an evil spirit of divination or destruction. Be sober, be vigilant for your adversary. The devil walketh about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. He will influence you if the Holy Spirit is not. This temple will have a spirit within it. We get to choose which one we prefer.As for me in my house, we will serve the Lord, Jesus Christ, right, Lord be to the Lamb of god, and Peter goes on to say, [...0.7s] and rest your hope fully upon the Grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.So it says and rest your hope, rest being a place of repose or a state from motion, a place of quiet [...0.8s] or of permanent habitation. This word Grace, a benefit, a gift, a favor, [...0.7s] also defined in Webster as [...1.0s] the free unmarrited love and favor from god.Rest your hope, [...0.7s] hope being trust, expectation, anticipation, faith fully [...1.0s] upon the Grace that is to be, which means it is not now, [...0.7s] because it is to be [...1.5s] brought to you, [...0.8s] delivered, carried [...0.8s] atat Which implies a time frame, the revelation of Jesus ChristChrist The revelation is a disclosure, a revealing, [...1.1s] the coming, the appearing [...0.7s] of Jesus Christ. [...1.6s] So as we read the word of god, and we look into what Peter's telling us. One of the things that we've, that we've [...0.6s] unraveled is that, one, [...0.9s] the thoughts of men and the hearts of men are evil [...0.8s] through and through.Two, we are to guard the loins where to lock down our own mind, so that we are in control of our mind and guided by the Holy Spirit, not by the devil [...0.6s] and his little minions here in this world that the Holy Spirit [...0.6s] guides us. This is the temple of god.The Holy Spirit should be there, so we are to guard what we let in to any of our access points.The thing we Learned is as we are to be sober minded that rules everything. Do not let anything influence you more than the word of god, than the truth of god, than the Holy Spirit. Anything else [...0.5s] becomes your god, anything else takes control.Remember your adversary, the devil walketh about as a roaring lion seeking whom you may devour.Don't let that be you. We need to hold fast as Peter, as Peter advises us. Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, [...0.9s] be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the Grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.Glory be to the Lamb of god, our Lord Jesus Christ. I hope that this word today has brought some peace and understanding. Be strong, stay safe, and until next time, may the Lord bless you and keep you. [...10.5s][...10.5s]