The Kneeling Mind

By Eric Lambert

Do you know the principles for walking in Daily Victory? As Christians, we want to live in the realm of the Spirit and walk in the light of God's Word, but too often we find ourselves falling back into worldly thought patterns and habits. Pastor Lambert explores 10 attitudes that help us develop a kneeling mind - a submissive, God-directed way of thinking. With a renewed mind, the mind of Christ, we can trust God to bring us through all the pitfalls and traps of the enemy. You can have victory over thingd that hinder your growth and keep you from enjoying the Lord's best It all beginns with A KNEELING MIND.

• Language: English
• Publisher: CLC Publications
• Release date: Oct 24, 2022
• ISBN: 9781619581180

Book preview

Introduction

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

(1 John 4:4)

For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

(1 John 5:4)

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

(Jeremiah 29:11)

WE ARE TAUGHT in the Word of God that there must be a changing of our thought processes in order to live victoriously and walk in the realm of victory our Lord has provided. The Apostle Paul challenges us with these words: This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind (Eph. 4:17).

After we become children of God we need to expose our once rebellious minds to those principles that will help us grow in the knowledge of the Lord. I have called this book The Kneeling Mind because I think it fits what the Lord was after in the Scriptures. Our minds once rejected the truths of the Word of God, but now we embrace these truths and grow as a result.

The idea of kneeling speaks to true humility and yielding to the Lord. We often kneel in prayer and bow our heads as we reverence the presence of the Lord. This book shows us how to kneel our minds—to submit to the will of the Lord. Let us look at one verse that speaks to this great action: And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:2).

I believe that when we humble our minds and submit them to the teachings of Christ, we will experience true victory. It is my desire that you will reach a new level of contentment in the world of the Spirit as you develop the mind of Christ; a new mind, a spiritual mind, a kneeling mind.

The Lord has wonderful plans for His children. He actually wants to bless us and bring us into a permanent position of blessing and healing. Unfortunately, our enemy, Satan, wants just the opposite. Jesus says, The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

We must develop a plan of action to counter the moves of the enemy. We must learn the principles of walking in victory every day. I believe that it is possible for Christians to walk in the power of the living God, moving in faith and seeing the miracles of the Lord develop in their lives.

I am writing these principles so that the average believer may gain a better understanding of God’s heart for their lives.

After we become born again, we often find ourselves struggling with so many cultural things that the Word of God is removed from our hearts. Our faith becomes dependent on the five senses we developed in our natural lives. Those things we mastered in the natural world become the cause of much of the pain we have in the spirit. We are more prone to operate with what we know in the flesh than what the Holy Spirit reveals to us in the spirit realm. As you develop a new attitude toward life, I want you to start looking at life from the realm of the Spirit of the living God. In fact, as we go forth in the Word of God we must acknowledge the ability of God to bring us through the pitfalls and traps of the enemy.

I want you to enjoy the trip we are about to take together. It is not going to be easy, but it is necessary. As we examine the Word of God, you will be forced to make some changes in your life and in the way you process things. Becoming a citizen of heaven is a blessing, yet it is also challenging for you: a blessing because you have become part of God’s family; challenging because you are faced with having the Lord change everything you have become comfortable with. This is not an easy task, yet I know the God we serve will see us through.

Some will find this book easy to apply; others will become challenged and a bit frustrated, as it demands a change in their mindset. That is why I have titled each chapter with a particular attitude. Study each chapter repeatedly until the truths contained there become a reality in your soul.

I pray that the Lord will bless you richly as you work to change many of the attitudes that have hindered your growth and kept you from enjoying the Lord’s best.

Now, let us begin the journey from mediocrity to excellence and blessing!

Remember, success begins with taking the first step!

1

The Attitude of Acknowledging Christ

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:6)

AS A CHILD I constantly sought to do things my own way. I remember one specific occurrence of this independence. I had a habit of standing next to my mother as she prepared meals at the stove. I was always trying to touch the stove to feel the heat that radiated from the white porcelain. Momma would often say, Boy, do not touch that! Yet, as you can imagine, I sometimes would not listen.

One day I inched my hand toward the stove again, and a strange thing happened: my mom did not stop me. I thought, Oh boy, I am going to touch the stove. I recall her watching me as I moved closer and closer to the hot surface and then … OWWW!

I touched the hot stove. I was victorious, and I had shown her who the boss was! But what was the price of my victory? I had a small blister on my cute little hand.

I can still hear Momma speaking very sharp to me: If you had only listened to me, you would have not been hurt. She then said something that stays with me until this day: Eric, when I tell you not to do something, it is because I love you and I do not want to see you get hurt. I know what I am talking about and you must learn to obey me. Then she began to repair the damage caused by my individuality.

I had refused to listen, even when I knew what to do. I did not acknowledge my mother at all.

It is interesting to note that the word acknowledge, found in our opening verse, carries meanings one might not normally associate with the English word. The Hebrew verb, yada, has the general meaning of to know (properly, to ascertain by seeing); acknowledge, have acquaintance with. But the word has sometimes been translated as advise, answer, appoint, be aware, discern, discover, instruct, and so on.¹

This word carries the idea of knowing by relationship and following the instructions given due to the relationship one has with the person giving the instructions. Whenever we are admonished to acknowledge the Lord it is because of the relationship that we have with Him. We usually view following instructions in a negative light. However, I am convinced that we gain more than we lose when we turn to Jesus first and trust His guidance. He will help us avoid the hot stoves of life.

We read the following words in the book of Judges (17:6): In those days there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes. The Israelites wanted to live their lives according to the desires of their heart, and not according to the Lord’s will. I think this verse speaks very clearly to the mindset of today. We simply do not want to put our trust in the Lord’s guidance, especially when we are confronted by so many experts.

I don’t mean to sound so arrogant as to suggest that we will not listen to the Lord, but we have an example from Scripture to bring clarity to this point. In Acts 27, as Paul is traveling on a ship, he warns prophetically of an impending shipwreck. But in verse 11 we read what happened when the experts showed up: Nevertheless, the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship more than those things which were spoken by Paul. Of course, the shipwreck does occur, and we can hardly blame Paul for saying, I told you so (see Acts 27:21).

There are times we believe others more than we believe the Lord. It is normal to ask others for advice and counsel before talking to God. I am sure we have heard this phrase many times: Well, we can always pray. Usually this comes after we have exhausted our efforts, and then look for the Lord to bail us out of trouble. I am convinced that we need to put our will on the back burner and put our trust in Him. Let us develop the attitude of acknowledging Christ first, then move once we have instructions.

Those of us who live in the United States have grown accustomed to doing things our way. I call this the Burger King lifestyle. Remember their slogan—Have it your way? In America, we pride ourselves on doing what comes natural to us and making up our minds according to our desires.

Is it any wonder, then, that living a victorious Christian life begins with acknowledging Christ, which means denying ourselves? The first thing we must do is rid ourselves of the desire to run our lives. We must learn to resist the impulse to plan our day without the Lord giving direction. That, unfortunately, is how we lived our lives for so very long.

However, for the believer in Christ this is a dangerous way to live. We are called of God to be different, and I believe that the greatest difference between the children of God and those of the world is that we trust in the Lord to guide us. We have seen the tragic results that come from trying to do things our own way when the Lord has given clear direction. Take the example of King Saul, for instance. In First Samuel chapter 15 we read that Saul had been given clear guidelines to obey. He has been told by Samuel the prophet to kill all of the Amalekites, yet Saul chooses to exercise his own will and do things his way instead of following the Lord’s directions. This resulted in the loss of Saul’s status and his position as king. When