Matt Hagee - Are You Out of Your Mind?
You need to know that you were created to overcome. You were not born to lose. God did not breathe the breath of life in you so that you could be overwhelmed and walked upon in this world. He gave you the life that you have so that you could live victoriously. The Bible tells us in Genesis 1:27 that, «God created you in his own image». He is a mighty God. He is a God who conquers. He conquered death, hell, and the grave when Jesus rose on the third day. That God is the God who created you, and he ordained you to be the light of the world in a time of darkness, that you would live a life where you are overcoming and not being overwhelmed.
You read the Bible, and it says that Jesus Christ triumphed over powers and principalities when he made a public spectacle of them at Calvary. He told the church that he would give us the keys to the kingdom, and that what we bound would be bound, and what we loosed would be loosed, and what we asked would be done, and the gates of hell would not prevail against us. Those kinds of promises tell us that we were created to overcome. So if we’re created to overcome, how come we’re not? What is it that’s overcoming us? And the first problem that we have to face is that those who are overcomers, they don’t live from the outside in, they live from the inside out.
This is what the Bible says, «Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world». The problem is not what we were created for, the problem is how we’re living. When you live from the outside in, you’ll always come up with a long list of reasons why you can’t overcome. And this is why Paul asks us to not be conformed to this world. He says, «Do not be conformed to this world». The world wants to overwhelm you, the world wants to defeat you, the world wants to cause you to live in all kinds of gloom and despair.
When’s the last time you got a happy message from the world? This world wants to overwhelm you, and it wants you to be a victim. But when you read the Word of God, it says, «Don’t let the outside affect the inside. Let the man on the inside overcome all of the things in this world. Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world». 1 John 5:4 says, «Whatever is born of God, it overcomes the world, and this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith». My faith in a God who cannot fail has given me victory over the world, over the flesh, and over the devil.
So, what is this world that Paul talks about that we should not be conformed by? He’s not talking about the cosmos, he’s not talking about the planet that is orbiting the sun. When he’s talking about the world, the phrase «World» translates the spirit of the age. The mindset of men. The attitude that people have towards life. What is the spirit of the age that we face? First and foremost, the spirit of this age acts as if God doesn’t exist. It actually gets offended when you declare that he does. The spirit of this age is saturated with selfishness. It loves to play the victim card. «My problems are not my fault, somebody gave them to me».
The spirit of this age scowls at the idea of service. «What? Help? No, I’m here to be served». The spirit of this age, according to the Word of God, has a form of Godliness, but denies the power thereof. And when you conform your mind to the spirit of the age, you are literally declaring war with God. That’s what Romans 8:7 says. It says, «The carnal mind is at enmity with God». That word enmity literally means at war. It is not a subtle conflict, it is an opposition to God. It cannot be subject to the law of God, and it cannot work for God.
James 4:4 tells us that, «The friend of the world,» the friend who has the spirit of the age, «The friend of the world is the enemy of God». Some people sing that song, «I’m a friend of God». You can sing a lie just as well as you can tell one. Because if you think like the world, God doesn’t look down and go, «That’s my friend». God looks at you and says, «We’re enemies. You have a mindset that is trying to cancel me». So, when it comes to being an overcomer, the thing that you have to understand more than anything is the main priority is for you to not overcome the challenge on the outside, but for you to overcome the challenge on the inside meaning that the thing you have to overcome is yourself.
You say, «But you don’t understand». No, you don’t understand. The problem’s not on the outside, the problem’s on the inside. Greater is he who is, where? In you. Romans 8:31 says, «If God is for us, who can be against us»? Verse 37, «In all of these things, we are more than conquerors through Christ». When you’re not living as a conqueror, it’s not that God can’t keep his promises, it’s not that Christ can’t overcome, it’s not that the Holy Spirit can’t empower. When you’re not living as a conqueror, it’s because you are having the mindset of the world and not giving God the opportunity to empower you. So, how do we do this? Paul tells us, «Offer yourself as a living sacrifice».
Romans 12:1 gives us the answer to Romans 12:2. And Paul begins. He says, «I beseech you, therefore brethren». Now, that word beseech, it’s an old English term. But what he’s doing is he’s saying, «I’m begging you». He’s saying, «Listen to me, church, I’m pleading with you». He says, «I’m urging you in the strongest way possible, for your own sake, live this way». One of the problems that we have in our churches today is that preachers have filled the pulpit with pleasantries, but they’re no longer pleading with their audience. And today, I’m pleading with you. Don’t leave the same way you came in. I’m urging you as much as possible, do not allow yourself to hear this message and refuse to change.
If he died for you, live for him. If he redeemed you, live for him. «Offer your body as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable unto God which is your reasonable service». The problem is when you have a conformed mind that thinks like the world, you say, «That’s not a reasonable thing, it’s an unreasonable thing». A conformed mind saturated in selfishness says, «What do you mean, 'live for him'? What do you mean pray? What do you mean read the Bible? You mean actually you want me to open it up, and look at it, and start at the top, and go right to left, all the way down to the bottom»? Yes. And when you’re done, turn the page. What happens when you put on a faithful, transformed mind? What happens when you become the living sacrifice that he wants you to be?
People hear a message like this and they say, «Pastor, are you telling me that if I lay my life down, if I do what the Word of God asks me to do, if I allow my mind to be transformed, that all of my challenges will be gone? Are you telling me that if I live for him, my problems will be solved, my battles will be won, my marriage will get better, my teenagers will help with the laundry? My income will go up, my blood pressure will go down, my teeth will get whiter, my hair will get fuller, my belly will get flatter, the cowboys will win? I mean, is anything too hard for God»? No. That’s not what I’m telling you. That’s not a child of God who is enduring hardness as a good soldier, that’s a customer who wants a product. God didn’t sign you up for a subscription, he signed you up to serve.
It’s a change on the inside. A carnal mind that’s conformed to the world says, «Jesus, if you love me, you won’t put me through that». A transformed mind says, «Where he leads me, I’ll follow, and I’ll allow his Holy Spirit to prove that he is who he said he is». You see, Jesus wants to transform you. He wants you to become a new creature. Not an improved version of your old self. He doesn’t wanna tweak the knobs and make you better this year, he wants you to be a new creature in Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:17, «Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he’s a new creation. Old things have,» what? «Passed away and behold all things have become new».
How do you become new? You make the decision to be a living sacrifice. You see, in the Old Testament, a sacrifice was laid on the altar and it was slain. I have an altar here that’ll help us understand better what we’re discussing being a living sacrifice. Whenever it came time to sacrifice in the Old Testament, it was very clear that you couldn’t just bring anything, you had to bring the right thing. Go read Leviticus and it says that it had to be a male, and it had to be a spotless male, and it had to be given freely. It wasn’t a tax that you paid God in exchange for service, it was an act of worship that you gave God because you loved him, and you wanted his power and his presence in your life. You couldn’t just bring anything, you had to bring the right thing.
And this truth still exists today. You can’t just bring anything to God. You have to bring the right thing. And a lot of people don’t have what they want from God because they’re sacrificing in rebellion and not obedience. Genesis 4:3-7, you see two sacrifices that are offered. One comes from Cain. It’s the fruit of the ground. The things that he grew in the earth. The other comes from Abel, it’s the first of his flock. God looks at Abel’s sacrifice, and he accepts it. Why? Because it was given in obedience. And he looks at Cain’s sacrifice and he rejects it. Why? Because it was given in rebellion. You don’t get to give God what you want, you’ve got to give God what he wants.
And Cain and God have a conversation in which God asks Cain a question. He said, «Why are you angry? You do know that if you do well, you will be accepted»? God has a very common sense question. «Cain, if you do what I ask, it’ll be accepted, but if you do what you want, it will be rejected». You need to know that there’s only two ways to give to God: in rebellion or obedience. And every day you do not give him what he wants, you’re in rebellion. Romans 12:1-2, the offering that God wants on the altar is you. Brothers, I urge you, present yourself a living sacrifice. It’s your reasonable service. Considering what he’s delivered us from, considering what he’s brought us through, considering how he has set us free, is that not the least that we could do? In order to do it, you have to give God the opportunity to transform your thinking.
In 1 Corinthians 2:16, it’s called the mind of Christ. It says, «We have the mind of Christ». Say that with me. We have the mind of Christ. And some people wanna make this a mystical thing. They want it to be superstitious or act like it’s some ethereal, hard thing to understand, but it’s really not. Here’s the mind of Christ, in Luke 22:42, it tells us what was his mind. «Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done». In John 5:30, Jesus said, «I do not seek my own will but the will of the father who sent me». When you have the mind of Christ, that’s your mindset. God, not my will, yours be done. Not my desire, but what you want for me. Our problem is we don’t want to do what God asks. We don’t want to be the living sacrifice, we don’t want to lay our life down on this altar. Oh altar, don’t fail me now. We like to bargain with God. We do silly and ridiculous things with God.
«Oh God, if you’ll help my marriage, if you’ll make my wife a sweet and precious angel. If she would just be like that woman in the Bible that does him good and not evil all the days of his life, I’ll give you my golf game. I’ll only play on Wednesdays instead of Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Or I’ll quit gambling on the golf course. Or when I win, I’ll give what I win to you. I’ll tell you what, God, how about you just bless the bag»? By the way, these aren’t my clubs. It would be a miracle if you could hit anything with one of these. We make promises that we don’t keep.
«God, if you’ll bless my business, if you’ll help me out of this financial storm that I’m going through, Lord I’ll quit going to the lake on Sunday. I’ll stop fishing with worms and start fishing for men. God, if you’ll help my kids get out of the trouble that they’re in, I’ll quit surfing the internet looking at those dirty pictures that you know about». Yeah, I didn’t get a «Amen» there, I got a «Ooh». Here’s the problem, who do you think you are that you could put anything on that altar different than what he asked you for? You think God wants some recreational behavior? You think God wants something that appeases you?
You think God looks at anything you’re gonna bring over here outside of yourself and says, «Oh wow, thank you. I gave you my only begotten son, and you gave me golf». No. God says, «I don’t want any of this junk». He says, «I want you. I want your life right here on this altar. I gave you my son, you give me your life». And this is why Paul says, «I’m asking you to do this by the mercy of God». Why by the mercy of God? Because without God’s mercy, you couldn’t even lay your life down. You see, it had to be a spotless lamb, and we were far from spotless.
So, this is why John 3:16 says that God gave, what? His only begotten son because that son was spotless. And he died my death so that I could live his life. But the only way I get to live that life is I’ve got to come to this altar and say, «Lord, I’m gonna lay my life down, and I’m going to ask you to live in me. When we do that, now we are engaged in a divine exchange in which he promises that he’ll give me beauty for ashes, and he’ll give me joy for sorrow. When I walk as a living sacrifice, his mercy is poured out in my life, and his goodness, and his favor follow me.
When I walk as a living sacrifice. I’m far from perfect, but God is working all things out for my good. He gives me joy instead of sorrow. He gives me pardon instead of guilt and shame. He gives me power and a sound mind instead of fear. He brings me victory when I’m weak. He brings me understanding when I’m lost. He brings me abundance when I’m in need. He brings me all that I need because he is my God and I am his child, and his hand is upon my life». But you can’t buy it with a bargaining chip. You can’t come over here and say, «God, I don’t like the terms of the deal. If you’ll accept this, can I still have that»? No. The only thing he wants here is you.
I say this in closing. Paul tells us, «If you live your life as a sacrifice, if you allow the Holy Spirit to transform your mind, you’re going to prove the good, the acceptable, and the perfect will of God». Romans 12:2, «That you may prove». Say that with me, «That you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God».
Paul is literally saying that if you’ll live your life this way, just like the experiments that you used to do in high school science class, you’re looking for proof. If you’ll live as a sacrifice, and you’ll be transformed by the renewing of your mind, God is going to prove himself to you in ways that you couldn’t even imagine. He’s going to prove that he’s faithful because 2 Timothy says that he remains faithful. He cannot deny himself. He’s going to prove that he’s a provider because the Psalmist said, «I’ve never seen the righteous forsaken nor their seed begging for bread». He’s going to prove that he cannot fail, because Jesus said, «With man, this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible».
When you live your life according to God’s plan and not your own plan, you’ll find out what David meant when he said, «Oh taste and see that the Lord is good». What he’s saying is the longer you serve him, the better he gets because he just keeps proving himself, and proving himself, and proving himself. So, I ask you this, how many of you need some proof in your life today? You need God’s power to move. You need his hand to make a way. The only way you’re going to get the proof you’re looking for is if you put on the altar what he wants, which is you. When you lose your mind and you say, «God, because of all that you’ve done for me through Jesus, I’m going to lay my life into your hands,» he’ll show you exceedingly, and abundantly above all that you could ask, that you could think, that you could imagine because that’s just the kind of God that he is.
Would you stand in the presence of the Lord? With every head bowed and every eye closed, many of you in this place and even more joining and watching online, you know that you’ve been trying to do things your way and get God’s results. You know that you’ve been bargaining instead of laying your life down. And today, when you leave this place, you don’t wanna leave the same way you came in, you wanna leave here saying, «God, not my will, but your will. God, I can’t carry this burden anymore. God, I need your help». And in order for you to receive what you need, it begins when you decide to get on that altar and let him have control.
I want everyone in this room and all of you who are watching and joining us, I want you to lift both hands and repeat this prayer with me.
Lord, Jesus Christ, today I ask you to forgive me for all of the times that I’ve sacrificed in rebellion instead of obedience. Today, I lay my life down and I accept complete surrender because you, Heavenly Father, have set me free. So today, in Jesus' name, I am asking you to prove your will in my life (and now, I want you to tell him exactly where you want it) I’m asking you to prove it in my family, I’m asking you to prove it in my health, I’m asking you to prove it, Father, with my children. Those who are not living for the Lord. I’m asking you to prove it in my finances (whatever the burden is, wherever you need that proof, God has exactly what you need, but he’s asking you to let go of your way and embrace his way). Father, in Jesus' name, today we receive answers, not only all over this room but all over this nation and around the world. Today, we receive breakthrough because your word has promised that where two or three of us gather and ask in faith, that you would do it. Today, we receive victory, not because we’re worthy but because you are so loving, you are so gracious, and you are so kind. So, we give you thanks for all of this and so much more in Jesus' name, amen and amen.