Committed to Christ #2 — Deny Yourself and Renew Your Mind

Being committed to Christ means putting Him first, denying yourself, and renewing your mind every day so that every other commitment in your life reflects Him. In this message, Pastor Paul continues his teaching from Committed To Christ, contrasting Judas and Peter, walking through Ephesians 4 and Romans 12, and showing how a renewed mind keeps a believer standing when the world around them gives way.

Below you will find the full video, a structured summary, the Scriptures he uses (linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway), a look at Judas and Peter, a timestamped outline and practical steps.

Sermon at a Glance

This service at NTC Ministries was posted on November 23, 2020, during Thanksgiving week and the opening of hunting season. Before the message, the offering is received with Philippians 4:19, God supplying every need. A church member named Tim shares a praise report: after two shoulder surgeries and a bicep surgery, he says God healed him physically and mentally and he recently received a large raise with a new employer. Christmas events are announced, including the NTC Christian Academy Christmas concert.

Pastor Paul then continues the teaching he began the previous week. His focus this time is how we stay committed to Christ, and his main answer is to renew your mind.

Why Being Committed to Christ Comes First

Pastor Paul opens with a simple question: how many believe our commitment to Christ is important? Being committed to Christ should be first, he says, because Jesus told us to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matthew 6:33). God will provide and make a way where there seems to be no way.

He compares it to marriage. A couple seals the deal when they say “I do.” There will be trials, mistakes and moments of putting your foot in your mouth, which is why the relationship has to be worked at. Yet the world is seeing a decline in commitment. People avoid marriage because they do not want to be committed to anything, and he calls so-called open relationships no commitment at all. Even at work, he notes, jobs are open everywhere, but many people do not want to commit to one.

His central point is that our commitment to Christ shapes all the others. When we understand that it is Christ in us, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27), His life is revealed through us to everyone around us. As he puts it, “All of my other commitments reflect my commitment with Christ.”

That is why, he says, Christians should be some of the most committed and hardest workers on the planet, doing everything wholeheartedly as unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23), and the most committed spouses on the planet, giving no place to the devil. There is a real devil and a real hell, he warns, and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

So how do we stay committed to Christ? Pastor Paul says God has been showing him this all year: renew your mind. What we need is to fill our minds with God’s Word, because it is alive and powerful. Plant the Word, and it produces fruit: righteousness, joy, peace and supernatural strength.

Deny Yourself and Take Up Your Cross

The first passage is Matthew 16:24–26, where Jesus tells His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” Pastor Paul asks how many disciples are in the room and has everyone say that Jesus is speaking to them.

Denying yourself, he explains, means setting down the cares and things we hold onto and pursuing Jesus’ work, purpose and plan for our lives first. When we do, the things that do not matter melt away, and the things that do have purpose God keeps in our lives, because He wants to give us the desires of our heart (Psalm 37:4). God is not a Father who wants His children dragging through life. He delights in seeing His people blessed.

Taking up the cross is our daily commitment to Christ, and it is not always easy. Pastor Paul repeats something Dr. Hohman had shared a few weeks earlier: when God gives a vision, He shows the end result, but not the bumps and mountains between here and there. Picking up your cross means pressing on regardless of circumstances, putting in the time and effort and not growing weary in doing good, because in due season we will reap if we do not lose heart (Galatians 6:9).

Following Jesus also means listening to His Word and His Spirit, who bears witness with our spirit (Romans 8:16), and connecting with the church God has placed us in, in humility and submission. Then Jesus asks what it profits a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul. Christians, Pastor Paul urges, need to be eternity-minded. Our life is but a vapor (James 4:14), like breath on a cold morning. Are you living for that vapor, or for eternity?

Judas and Peter: Two Ways Commitment Breaks

To show that commitment to Christ is real, Pastor Paul turns to two men who walked with Jesus for years. Judas saw God in the flesh, watched signs, wonders and miracles every day, and learned to talk and act like Jesus. Yet for thirty pieces of silver he betrayed Him (Matthew 26:14–16). Pastor Paul says he is not trying to scare anyone, but to open eyes: if Judas could turn, being committed to Christ is not something to take lightly. The guilt so plagued Judas that it destroyed him.

Peter was one of Jesus’ best friends, and in his pride he insisted he would never deny Him. Jesus told him he would deny Him three times before the rooster crowed (Matthew 26:34), and it happened. When people began to accuse and pressure him, fear gripped Peter and he backed down. Pastor Paul notes that afterward Peter simply went back to fishing.

The difference in the endings is the point. The table below follows Pastor Paul’s contrast between the two disciples.

Peter’s commitment changed when he told Jesus that he loved Him and nothing else mattered, and Jesus sent him to build His church. With 120 in the upper room, the Holy Spirit came, and Peter stood up unafraid, telling the crowd these men were not drunk, since it was only the third hour of the day, but this was what the prophet Joel had spoken of (Acts 2:15–16). His commitment became real.

Pastor Paul’s application is tender. We make mistakes and we fail, but forgiveness is as simple as saying, “Jesus, forgive me.” This is why, he says, you must renew your mind daily, and why God created the church: to keep us committed to Christ after we fall.

Renew Your Mind: Put On the New Man

Deception, Pastor Paul says, has been the devil’s method from the beginning. In the garden he questioned God’s motives until Eve began to think the fruit did not sound so bad (Genesis 3:1–6). The answer to deception is to renew your mind, as Ephesians 4:17–24 teaches: do not walk as the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, but put off the old man, be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new man created according to God in true righteousness and holiness.

The futility of the mind, he explains, is living by whatever feels good or seems like a good idea. Believers must deny those thoughts and ask whether they line up with the Word and serve the vision God has given. He also draws a distinction he finds helpful. Stupidity is knowing something is wrong and doing it anyway; ignorance is not knowing the truth at all. Unbelievers often truly do not know any better, and without God as the rock, all other ground is shifting sand.

Jesus Himself showed true commitment over His feelings. In Gethsemane He prayed for the cup to pass, then said, nevertheless, not My will but Yours (Luke 22:42). Willpower does not work, Pastor Paul says; Peter thought he was strong enough. Strength comes through humility. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and He will lift you up (1 Peter 5:6), and be strong in the Lord and the power of His might (Ephesians 6:10).

Putting on the new man is a decision only you can make. “I’m not your ticket to heaven,” Pastor Paul tells the church. He can teach and say, follow me as I follow Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1), but each believer must make the decision. In Christ you are a new creation; old things have passed away (2 Corinthians 5:17). And the reason to keep gathering is that Scripture says to do so all the more as the day approaches (Hebrews 10:25).

He makes a practical point about Bible reading too. Scripture says to study to show yourself approved (2 Timothy 2:15). “It’s not the quantity but the quality with which you read,” he says. He sometimes stays in one chapter for weeks, asking what God is showing him, and finds something new every day. Making and taking the time is what commitment means, in a job, a marriage or being committed to Christ.

A Living Sacrifice With the Mind of Christ

Reading Ephesians 4 again in the Passion Translation, Pastor Paul warns those who think knowing about God is enough. Unless you are committed to Jesus Christ, he says, you are deceived. Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, and whatever a man sows he will reap (Galatians 6:7). Sow the ways of the world and you reap the world; commit your life to Christ and you find peace at night, strength by day and joy in turmoil.

You must renew your mind daily. In Romans 12:1–2, Paul urges believers to present their bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, and not to be conformed to this world but transformed by the renewing of the mind. Acceptable to God, Pastor Paul stresses, not to our feelings or our friends. What we take in shapes us: someone who fills their mind with horror films builds a wall of fear, and then how can their light shine?

So he makes time with God first thing every morning, even if it means waking fifteen minutes, half an hour or an hour early. “I need Him before I need my next breath,” he says. When the winds and waves come, his feet are planted on the solid rock. Perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18); he can do all things through Christ who strengthens him (Philippians 4:13); no weapon formed against him shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17).

Then he turns to Philippians 2:1–8. The call to renew your mind is not just for pastors; there is power in unity when the church is like-minded, sharing the mind of Christ. That mind is humble. Jesus made Himself of no reputation, took the form of a bondservant, humbled Himself and became obedient. Peter’s pride failed, but humility stands. Commit to your feelings and you will stumble, Pastor Paul warns; commit to Christ, and by your God you can run against a troop and leap over a wall (Psalm 18:29).

A believer committed to Christ also influences the world rather than being influenced by it. When fear and panic grip others, they will look at your life and ask why nothing shakes you, and you can tell them with confidence that it is because of your commitment to Jesus Christ.

Guard Your Thoughts and Stay the Course

Even when you are committed to Christ, Pastor Paul admits, God’s love can feel a million miles away while you carry your cross. That is when you remind yourself of the Word and pray as Elisha prayed for his servant, that God would open your eyes to see that those with us are more than those against us (2 Kings 6:16–17). Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).

From Philippians 4:4–9 he draws a pattern for daily life: rejoice in every season, let gentleness show in every relationship, do not worry, and bring every request to God in prayer with overflowing gratitude, just as Tim did in his testimony. Tell God every detail, because He already knows your thoughts. Then His peace, which passes understanding, guards you. Fix your thoughts on whatever is true, noble, pure, lovely and of good report.

When fearful thoughts come, he says, answer them with 2 Timothy 1:6–7: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” He tells the church to rebuke those thoughts in Jesus’ name and refuse to entertain them. “Sometimes you got to get radical in your commitment,” he says, even preaching to yourself.

He closes with Isaiah 26:3: “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” The Bible warns of a great falling away (2 Thessalonians 2:3), and he does not want to be part of it. Jesus said to be of good cheer, because He has overcome the world (John 16:33). So stay committed to Christ, stay the course, be a doer of the Word and not a hearer only (James 1:22), and expect God to do great things through His church.

Living Committed to Christ This Week

Pastor Paul ends by praying for everyone who chooses to be totally sold out for Jesus, spirit, soul and body. These steps come from the message:

• Put Christ first in every commitment. Let your faithfulness at work, at home and in marriage reflect your commitment to Christ.
• Meet God before your day starts. Wake up early if you must, and read for quality, staying with a passage until the Holy Spirit speaks.
• Test your thoughts. Before acting on a feeling or idea, ask whether it lines up with the Word and with the vision God gave you.
• Turn worry into grateful prayer. Tell God every detail of your life with thanksgiving instead of complaining.
• Answer fear with Scripture. Speak 2 Timothy 1:7 aloud and refuse to entertain thoughts God did not give you.
• Get back up quickly. Like Peter, receive forgiveness and recommit; God is a God of second chances.

Being committed to Christ, Pastor Paul says, is a fun and exciting ride. Stay on the path, refuse the delusions that tempted Eve, and keep your eyes fixed on Jesus.

Timestamped Outline

• 0:03 Opening worship
• 5:13 Offering: Philippians 4:19
• 6:13 Tim’s praise report
• 7:13 Christmas events announced
• 34:00 Pastor Paul welcomes the church
• 35:48 Commitment in marriage and work
• 36:48 Every commitment reflects Christ
• 38:50 Renewing the mind
• 40:42 Matthew 16: deny yourself
• 42:37 Taking up your cross daily
• 45:20 Life is a vapor; Judas
• 47:41 Peter’s denial
• 49:03 A God of second chances
• 51:25 Ephesians 4:17–24
• 53:40 The futility of the mind
• 55:38 Nevertheless: Jesus in Gethsemane
• 58:54 Study to show yourself approved
• 1:04:34 Romans 12: a living sacrifice
• 1:07:12 Time in the Word every morning
• 1:11:20 Philippians 2: the mind of Christ
• 1:16:18 Philippians 4:4–9
• 1:22:11 2 Timothy 1:7: a sound mind
• 1:24:12 Isaiah 26:3: perfect peace
• 1:25:11 Closing prayer of commitment

Committed to Christ Series

This message is the second part of Pastor Paul’s short series at NTC Ministries. Start with the first message if you missed it:

• Previous: Committed To Christ
• You are here: Committed to Christ #2 — Deny Yourself and Renew Your Mind

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it enough to say I am a Christian?

Pastor Paul says no. He speaks directly to people watching at home who think that knowing about God means they will go to heaven, and calls that an empty delusion. Unless you are committed to Jesus Christ, he says, you are deceived. He also challenges the idea of saying “this is just the way I am” while refusing church. Commitment to Christ shows in a changed life, and he says he holds himself to the same standard, since everyone will give account to God.

What if I have already failed in my commitment?

Peter is Pastor Paul’s answer. Peter denied Jesus three times, yet Jesus went to see him after rising from the dead, because He is a God of second chances. Forgiveness, Pastor Paul says, is as simple as telling God you made a mistake and asking Jesus to forgive you. What matters next is to renew your mind so your commitment to Christ grows stronger, the way Peter’s did when the Holy Spirit filled him.

How should I read the Bible to renew your mind?

Read for quality, not quantity. Pastor Paul says he does not read Scripture like a novel from Genesis to Revelation hoping to get something out of it. He will stay in one chapter for weeks, asking the Lord what He is showing him, and finds something new each day. He also uses more than one translation, reading the New King James alongside the Passion Translation to see a passage in a different way.

Scripture References

All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:

• Matthew 16:24–26 — deny yourself, take up your cross
• Ephesians 4:17–24 — put on the new man
• Romans 12:1–2 — a living sacrifice, renewed in mind
• Philippians 2:1–8 — the mind of Christ
• Philippians 4:4–9 — prayer, peace and right thinking
• Matthew 26:34 — Peter’s denial foretold
• Acts 2:15–16 — Peter preaches at Pentecost
• 2 Timothy 1:6–7 — power, love and a sound mind
• Isaiah 26:3 — perfect peace

How this summary was made: written with AI assistance from the sermon’s own transcript and checked against the Scriptures listed above.

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