THE BATTLE FOR YOUR MIND
Phil 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Believe me the Advertisers know the way to your pocketbook is through your mind. They spend millions on advertising to get you interested in their product.
Likewise Satan wants to interest you in Sin, but not telling you the end result of it. On the other hand the Holy Spirit is
is given to us to deliver us from the power of sin. He often reminds us of scripture and lesson’s taught in the scripture, to help us, but we must listen.
This is a warfare for your mind:
2 Cor 10:4.5 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
A key word in this verse is "imaginations" our mind’s are capable of all kinds of imaginations or mind sets.
Let’s look at some:
I/ Doubtful Mind - Luke 12:29 And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
When Satan questioned Eve in the garden, he caused her to doubt. In Gen 3:3 God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. In Gen 3:4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:
Satan is the master liar and he will wreck your mind if you let him. He will distort your thought patterns and destroy your confidence in God. The Lie: God is against me. All your trouble is coming from God. He has let you down. You "imagine" that God is blessing others but not you. You become unhappy with your lot in life and blame God. Basically, you have listened to Satan’s lie and begin to doubt God’s love for you.
We must Guard against a doubtful mind! In Matt the 14th chapter Peter was walking on the water to come to Jesus when he took his eyes off Jesus and began to sink. Jesus said to him "O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" Keeping our eyes on Jesus and being thankful for His blessings will help us to "keep the faith"
II/ Blinded Mind - 2 Cor 4:3,4 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
Minds are blinded by all kinds of Satan’s lies, Evolution, Situational Ethics, cults, world religions etc. Young people in college are most susceptible, having not been through enough testing in life or not grounded in the Bible they become easy prey for the intellectualism offered by many unbelieving teachers. Sometimes young people are sent off to war and experience horrible things in which Satan will blame God for not stopping.
Sin can also blind your mind to the truth of God’s word. Each sin is like a brick on a wall between you and God’s truth. The eyes of your mind become blinded or blocked off from the truth. The key to victory here, is to be willing to come to the light. Let yourself be exposed to the light of the word of God. Then the image of God will shine unto you and faith will be given to you.
III/ Closed Mind - 2 Tim 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
Some will spend years in school, learning many unimportant things, none of which will bring lasting happiness. Their minds are closed to the truth because of sin. John 3:20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. Sadly the picture we see is of Christ standing outside trying to come in to the closed mind through the closed door. Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. In order to understand the truth of Spiritual things one must first come to the Savior, confessing their sin and wanting Jesus to come into their heart. Then the Spirit of God will become the teacher.
IV/ Renewed Mind - Eph 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
We need to have our mind’s renewed after we are saved, because of our sin nature and our sin choices we made before we became Christians. Basically we need to surrender our minds to Christ.
I have heard it said that so and so brought a lot of baggage to the marriage. Well all of us brought a lot of baggage to our Christian life and walk with the Lord. The bible says Rom 12:2 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. We need a transformation, something only God can do. How does He do it?
Rom 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
V/ Reprobate Mind - Rom 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
What is a reprobate mind like?
1. A reprobate mind has a vanishing conscience
2. A reprobate mind has no regrets over committed sins.
3. A reprobate mind has resentment towards Christ and His Church
4. A reprobate mind lacks sensitivity to the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
In other words a reprobate mind willfully rejects the claims of Christ, the good news of the Gospel. It is apathetic and indifferent to the witness of the Church. A mind that is going in this direction is in much danger. Such people imagine new religions (cults), new theories that explain away the God they do not want to acknowledge (evolution), they not only are headed for hell, but will bring others with them if they do not repent.
VI/ Spiritual Mind - 1 Cor 2:14-16 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ.
What is the mind of Christ like?
a. It is a mind that loves lost souls. Luke 19:10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
b. It is a mind that directs Him to do things that please the Father John 8:29 "I do always those things that please him."
c. It is a mind that wants to do the Father’s will - John 5:30
" I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me."
d. It is a humble mind - Footwashing - Jn. 13:3-5; 12-17
e. It is a loving mind - 1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Show me someone who is Spiritual, and it will be someone who loves.
VII/ Healthy Mind - 2 Tim 1:7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Isa 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.
If we look at these verse’s carefully, we see that a sound mind or a healthy mind is one that has inward peace.
Like the man who said "My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished 2 bags of chips and a chocolate cake. I feel better already.
Seriously, inner peace comes from having a right relationship with God. To have a right relationship with God we must guard against impure thoughts. Remember God is Holy, and we offend His Spirit with impure thoughts. Matt 5:28, Mark 7:21-23,
1 Thessalonians 4:3-5,7 Remember in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said Mat 5:8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
CONCLUSION: WHAT WE NEED ARE GUARDED MINDS:
1. GUARDED AGAINST DOUBT
2. GUARDED AGAINST DISCOURAGEMENT
3. GUARDED AGAINST PRIDE
4. GUARDED AGAINST IMPURITY OF THOUGHT
PRAYER: Lord give me the mind of Christ, a pure mind, a loving mind, a humble mind, a trusting mind.
