Sermon “Winning the Battle of the Mind
Scripture Lesson: Philippians 4:4-9 NLT 4 “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. 8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”
Introduction: The information highway is full, and most people have little times for reflection. The world has become noisier. Have you thought about all the ideas competing for your mind? Besides CNN, HLN, FOX, local news began at 4:30 AM and last until 9:00AM, then starts again at 4:00PM and last until 7:30PM. That’s nearly 8 hours of bad news, and repeated bad news every day. Much of the information is design to create panic and anxiety. How many reports have you heard about the pandemic? I believe we need to be informed, but 8 hours a day is depressing.
Paul understanding the pressures on the church, adds these exhortations. The Philippian Church must “Fix your thought-life.” Satan’s most destructive attacks will come against our mind. The mind is our most basic battlefield. In order to maintain control of our mind, we must fix our on the right kind of thoughts. Satan main forces of attacks are doubts, depression, fear, and discouragement. Proverbs 23:7 “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” Satan uses words, and ideas to promotes worry and anxiety in our lives. Then he feed our fear with half-truths. Satan is a deceiver and a slander. He specializes in dropping ideas into our mind and heart creating anxiety. Worry will damage spirit, soul and body. If we agonize long enough, we can damage our physical body. One doctor reported about 80% of his hospital patients were put there by worry anxiety. How do we win the battlefield of the mind? Paul assures the church of Philippi and us, that Christ in us is more than enough to fortify our lives and purify our thought-life.
1. Maintain Your Joy. Rejoice in the Lord Always. The Philippians are encouraged to keep rejoicing. Rejoicing is a choice. They should not be hindered by any afflictions that the wicked imagine and work against them. There is a difference between the Joy of the Lord and the joy of the world. Keep the joy of the Lord in your heart. Real joy flows from a genuine relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. In that relationship we have the assurance that God loves us and will take care of us. That joy allows them to behave themselves moderately with all men. Their quiet spirit and settled mind is their best witness in troubled times. We must not be anxious because of impatience, seeing that God is at hand to give us help in time for all our miseries. “Be careful about nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”
That joy keeps us from being too anxious for anything, but with sure confidence give God thanks, and desire from him whatever we have need of, that with a quiet conscience we may wholeheartedly submit ourselves to God. “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” That great quietness of mind, which God alone gives in Christ bring with it an endless supply of joy. Paul divides the mind into two dimensions, the heart which is the seat of the will and affections, and the mind, the higher part, which understands and reasons about matters. The peace of God guards our hearts from wrong feelings and guards our minds from wrong thinking.
Finally, we given some guidelines for our thought life. 4:7 “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” We are admonished to guide our thinking, to choose what we think about. Just as we have been taught both in word and holy example, how to live and we must now learn how to think. Our Christian walk was not automatic, we learned to live holy, we learned to walk right. Now the rule of holiness and righteousness has become a lifestyle. We practice things that beautify lives and set us apart as kingdom builders. If we are going to win the Battle of the Mind, we will need the peace of God.
2. The Peace of God will Guard your Mind. 4 “Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
The peace of God is that calm, heavenly repose, that tranquility of spirit, which God only can give. It is impossible to avoid Satan’s attacks, worry will come and we all are tempted to feel anxious, yet the peace of God which surpasseth all understanding we keep us. It is more than we can comprehend, yet when we receiveth it, we know it. The example used is a military one, a guard that watches and keeps as a military garrison protects a city. We need double protection for our hearts or our affections and our minds or our understandings. All that we need are supplied through the Spirit and power of Christ Jesus, in the knowledge and love of God. Without a guard set on these, the purity and vigor of our affections cannot long be preserved, and our mind would cave in to worry.
3. Be Alert - Guide Your Thoughts. 8 “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise. 9 Keep putting into practice all you learned and received from me—everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you.”
Believer can continually rejoice in the fact that the Lord is at hand, presence with us in every trial. Really, we are the only ones who can truly rejoice, because we are in the Lord! Are we all in him? Since you are you be not just careful, but prayerful. Prayer is the cure for care. Finally, to sum up all, Paul give us food for thought containing their duty and some commendations. We are encouraged to think about things that are True-In speech, Honest-In action, Just-With regard to others, and Pure-With regard to yourselves.
Then Paul points out that when we see these traits in others, commend them. Things Lovely should be celebrated. And what more lovely than truth? Things of good report should be commended. Honesty is right whether it is not practiced. If there be any virtue and all virtues are contained in justice, when you see it say something. If there be any thing praiseworthy, be the first to commend it. Think on these things-That you may both practice them yourselves, and commend them in others. These matter for thought are given so we can take each word and study it, and then put it in practice.
3. Stand Against Satan’s Strategies - 2Co 10:4 “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; 5 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;”
We have been given the exceeding great and precious promises of God, the presence of God and the peace of God to guard against what we feel and think. We don’t have to live worried and full of anxiety. We have the peace of God.
Proverb 4:23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
Our heart is a fountain of life: when the heart is well kept, and stored with heavenly wisdom, it sends forth life-giving streams. If men who care for their hearts the way they care for their estates, they would be rewarded with peace and prosperity, instead of disappointment and consuming anxiety.
Some will say, “Well, I can’t help what I think or how I feel.” That’s just no true.
Jas 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Ro 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.”
Steps to winning the battle of the mind: Submit yourselves unto the Lord, Resist the devil and he will flee, and be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind. When you do you start seeing yourself as God see you, You start believing what God says about you, before you know it. It will become you faith confession and you daily lifestyle. You can win the battle of your mind.
