Rodney Howard Browne Louisville

A Clear Mind by Rodney Howard Browne

You cannot think wrongly and live rightly. If you are thinking properly, your life will be on track because the Holy Spirit will enable you to achieve and become what He has in mind. As Christians, “we have the mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). That means that we have the capacity to think the way the Lord Jesus Christ thinks and to view our circumstances from His perspective.

To see as Christ does is often at odds with how the world sees. For example, to the non-spiritual mind, there appears to be nothing positive about death. But believers know the truth about death and life eternal—for them, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. (2 Corinthians 5:8) Similarly, when we encounter other hardships, we can be thankful because “ . . . we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purposes” (Romans 8:28). But since the world doesn’t understand that, they accuse us of being confused. We’re not confused—knowing what the Scriptures say on the subject, we understand God’s viewpoint, which is truth.

So how can we keep our minds from being confused by the world, cluttered with its vain philosophies, and corrupted by its system? Romans 12:2 tells us, “ . . . Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” Just as a computer needs good software, we must program our minds with truth: daily meditation on God’s Word and His principles.

• 1.
• Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,

• 2.
• Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:

• 3.
• Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

• 4.
• I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ;

• 5.
• That in every thing ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all knowledge;

• 6.
• Even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you:

• 7.
• So that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ:

• 8.
• Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.

• 9.
• God is faithful, by whom ye were called unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.

• 10.
• Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.

• 11.
• For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you.

• 12.
• Now this I say , that every one of you saith , I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.

• 13.
• Is Christ divided ? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

• 14.
• I thank God that I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius;

• 15.
• Lest any should say that I had baptized in mine own name.

• 16.
• And I baptized also the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.

• 17.
• For Christ sent me not to baptize , but to preach the gospel : not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect .

• 18.
• For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.

• 19.
• For it is written , I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.

• 20.
• Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?

• 21.
• For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe .

• 22.
• For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom:

• 23.
• But we preach Christ crucified , unto the Jews a stumblingblock , and unto the Greeks foolishness;

• 24.
• But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

• 25.
• Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

• 26.
• For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:

• 27.
• But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;

• 28.
• And base things of the world, and things which are despised , hath God chosen , yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are :

• 29.
• That no flesh should glory in his presence .

• 30.
• But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:

• 31.
• That, according as it is written , He that glorieth , let him glory in the Lord.

SUCCESSFULLY DEVELOPING YOUR CHARACTER by Rodney Howard Browne

Fully satisfied and assured that God was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised.

22 That is why his [Abraham’s] faith was credited to him as righteousness (right standing with God).

23 But [the words], It was credited to him, were written not for his sake alone,

24 But [they were written] for our sakes too. [Righteousness, standing acceptable to God] will be granted and credited to us also who believe in (trust in, adhere to, and rely on) God, Who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead,

25 Who was betrayed and put to death because of our misdeeds and was raised to secure our justification (our acquittal), [making our account balance and absolving us from all guilt before God].  Romans 4:21-25 AMP

Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness – right standing with God. These words were not written just for his sake, but for yours as well, because through every generation, with or without the law, faith was required in order to be counted righteous, Works alone, no matter how good, cannot purchase righteousness. Righteousness comes only by faith – it is a free gift. Jesus was betrayed and put to death because of your misdeeds and mine.

God raised Jesus from the dead to secure your justification (your acquittal) making your account balance (He paid the debt you could not pay) and absolving you from all guilt before God. You can come boldly and confidently into the throne-room of grace to find mercy in your time of need.

Therefore, since we are justified (acquitted, declared righteous, and given a right standing with God) through faith, let us [grasp the fact that we] have [the peace of reconciliation to hold and to enjoy] peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed one).  Romans 5:1 AMP

You are justified through faith and you have peace, and can enjoy peace, with God through your Lord, Jesus Christ, but it doesn’t completely benefit you unless you become aware of it and understand it through Him also we have [our] access (entrance, introduction) by faith into this grace (state of God’s favor) in which we [firmly and safely] stand. And let us rejoice and exult in our hope of experiencing and enjoying the glory of God.  Romans 5:2 AMP

Through Jesus, you have access by faith into grace – God’s favor. This grace and favor is secure – as long as you believe in Him – it will always be yours. You can relax and know that God’s grace and favor rests upon you now and you can rejoice as you look forward to experiencing and enjoying the glory of God, in a measure here, and in it’s fullness in eternity.

Moreover [let us also be full of joy now!] let us exult and triumph in our troubles and rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that pressure and affliction and hardship produce patient and unswerving endurance.  Romans 5:3 AMP

When you know how much the Father, Son and Holy Spirit love you, how much favor you have with them and how wonderful heaven is going to be – there is not much left that can scare you. For you to live is Christ and to die is gain (Philippians 1:29)!

You are so full of Jesus and so full of joy that you are not afraid of trouble or hardship. When you go through something hard you have two choices – you can let it take you out or you can take it out! When you decide to fight the good fight of faith, place your confidence in God, and bear up under the pressure, you are going to come out better than when you went in.

You are going to come out the other side with more patience than you had before and an ability to endure much more than you could before. The devil is not going to be able to push you around so easily the next time! You will be toughened up!

And endurance (fortitude) develops maturity of character (approved faith and tried integrity). And character [of this sort] produces [the habit of] joyful and confident hope of eternal salvation. 5 Such hope never disappoints or deludes or shames us, for God’s love has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us. Romans 5:4-5 AMP

When patient endurance is developed in your life, it also develops maturity of character. This kind of character produces the habit of joyful and confident hope – a hope that will never disappoint you. Some people are afraid to hope in case things don’t work out and they are disappointed, but when you have gone through some hard things and you have trusted in God and He has come through for you, you are encouraged to develop the habit of a hopeful attitude. This hopeful attitude will always serve you well and will not disappoint you. Hope is the foundation for your faith and you know that it is only your faith in God that causes Him to pour out His grace, mercy and favor on you when you ask for it. Therefore, when you face your next challenge – and you will – you can face it with confidence, remembering that God came through for you last time and knowing that He is sure to come through for you again this time, as you put your trust in Him.

STAY AWAY FROM LAZY BUSYBODIES by Rodney Howard Browne

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “If a man will not work, he shall not eat.” We hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies. Such people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the bread they eat. And as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right. If anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him. Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed. Yet do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a brother. II Thessalonians 3:6-15 NIV

There are some born-again believers (sadly) who talk the talk, but they don’t walk the walk. Do not allow yourself to be influenced by these people. Don’t be moved by their gifts (or the gifts they claim to have) – look at how yielded they are to the Word of God. If they are not personally yielded to the Word of God – do not let them speak into your life because they do not hear God’s voice! The measure of a person’s submission to God’s Word, is the measure of their heart condition toward God Himself. Do not let lazy, irresponsible, disorderly, busybody shirkers have an influence on you. Remove yourself from their presence. Charles Finney said that he would not allow anyone near his children (even if they were relations) who might corrupt their morals or their manners. We should have that much sense with our own selves, as well as with our children. You don’t have to stand in judgment of that kind of person, just remove yourself and your family from their presence and their influence.

Some people think that if they do not work, they are walking in faith, but they are actually walking in foolishness. You must PRAY like it all depends on God, but you have to WORK like it all depends on you! Paul instructs us that we should work to feed and support our families and ourselves. We should not become a burden upon other people simply because we are too lazy, or too busy poking our nose into other people’s business, to provide for ourselves. It is very important that we mind our own affairs and not those of other people, because while you busy yourself with other people’s business, your own responsibilities go unfulfilled. Minding your own business is a command given by God to you. In the day you stand before God, you only give an account for the areas you are responsible for, not the responsibilities of others.

For example, while you involve yourself in other people’s affairs, yours are being neglected and getting all messed up and you can’t even see it. There is no one that will take care of your affairs, except you, so take care of your own business and not others people’s business. If you encounter lazy, irresponsible, disorderly, busybody shirkers in church, the Bible says that you should not associate with them. However, it also says that we should not treat them like an enemy, but admonish and warn them as a brother. Rebuke lazy Christians, but don’t criticize them. Correct them with the Word in order to help them, not to hurt them. Continue to do the right thing without becoming weary or losing heart. Every one wants to do right, but many give up because of worldly pressure or because they feel that they are the only ones doing right. Make up your mind that even if no one else honors God by doing right – you will be the one to do it and the blessing of the Lord will be upon your life.