Your Mind, The First Line Of Defense
Divine Weapon Number One
Last week – we kicked off, what is going to be the theme for much of my teaching in 2002 – in a message called This Means War…Listen we have an enemy, a powerful enemy. Scriptures says;
“Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour.” 1 Pe 5:8 (NLT)
“Then the dragon became angry at the woman, and declared war against the rest of her children – all who keep God’s commandments and confess they belong to Jesus.” Rev 12:17
QUESTION – Is God’s word true? Should you believe what His words says? OF COURSE we should.
WELL – his word says that satan, the most powerful being there is, next to God has declared war – on you (look at your neighbor -- ‘satan has declared war on you’)
Yes - it’s true satan (the roaring lion, the angry dragon) has declared war – on you, your marriage, your family, your church and your life… AND for some, the battle damage is pretty devastating. YOU SEE - satan is very proficient at this warfare – he’s being doing it for 1,000 of years, to billions of people (you’re not his first target).
We have an enemy… AND – as we said last week, we are losing territory. satan is taking from us, things that are rightly ours because we are a blood bought believer, because we are a child of God.
NOW – before I remind you of what we have lost – I want to remind you of who it was that gained this territory, I want to remind you of the one, who both fought & won, the battle that gave you all of that stuff to begin with.
Thursday morning – was an awesome morning for me… But to be honest, I didn’t want to get up when the alarm rang at 5:45 am. BUT – I knew I had to go, to my men’s bible study at 6:30 am. It was an incredible ‘God time’ with Jessie, John Shipman, Mike Spaulding & Daniel Echols.. Just asked one of them and they will tell you…
After that time of study I grabbed my hang time journal to do my quiet time – I turned to Isaiah 53… I read it a couple of times, trying to find out what I needed to take with me for the day. One thing that ‘really’ hit me, were these words in verses 5 & 11; [Isaiah 53 is an awesome chapter, that vividly describes Jesus death]
“But He was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed!” (5)
“When He sees all that is accomplished by His anguish, He will be satisfied…” (11)
CIRCLE - “He was beaten that we might have peace…”
{‘Jesus was beaten so that I could have peace’}
LISTEN - Jesus went through all that the cross was – he took every punch, endured every pain, shed every drop of blood - so that I so that you could have peace… so that we could have peace… so that, this territory, and so much more would be ours…
AND – when Jesus sees us, when he sees you, when Jesus sees me, experiencing that peace, when Jesus Christ, sees all that His anguish has accomplished, he is satisfied.. BUT on the contrary – when Jesus sees us give back territory to the enemy – when He sees you and I, give back to satan the things, he that suffered and won for us, on the cross, when YOU, give back to the dragon, to the roaring lion –
Your peace
Your hope
Your joy
Your significance
Your guiltlessness
Your victory over sin & temptation
Your satisfaction & fullness of life – Your freedom - when Jesus sees you give up -
THESE things – He is not satisfied…
QUESTION – have you lost any of those things?
OKAY – HERE’S ANOTHER QUESTION – do you want to get them back? Do you want to get back what’s yours? If so you need to declare war on satan…
BUT – how do we declare war on satan. How do we fight an enemy that is so much more powerful than we are… How can we possibly stand firm, how can we hold our ground, let alone defeat, an enemy that is the most powerful being there is, next to God – How do we overcome - an enemy that knows us so well and has been engaged in this war against the Christian for 2,000 years… Last week - saw that the answer to those questions is found in 2 Corinthians 10;
“Though we live in the world we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary they have divine power to demolish strongholds…” (3,4)
How do we defeat satan – with divine weapons…
My goal this morning is twofold…. First talk about the first divine weapon that will enable us to demolish satan strong holds and get back what is ours… Second - after the message give us all an opportunity to sign our formal Declaration of War….
NOW – before we go any further I need to make something clear – as I did yesterday to the 32 guys who showed up for our R.O.C.K. breakfast… This declaring war stuff – is not a gimmick… It is not some slick packaged program that I came up with or read in a book… THIS is a message that I know God put on my heart on December 8, 2001.
LISTEN - I am totally serious about declaring war on satan – both in my life and in this church, I’m not playing – no longer will I stick my head in the sand or play with sticks and toy guns when the enemy is attacking me and people I love… I am ‘dead’ serious about taking back what is ours…
NOW – as you can see from your outline the divine weapon that we want to look at today is our minds… AND as we study this weapon we will see that it really is our first line of defense… LISTEN – if you don’t win the battle of your mind – if you don’t learn how to control/how to master your thoughts you will lose the war, before you even begin…
The way I want us to approach this study is by asking two simple questions: #1 why is your mind so important – and #2 how do you make your mind a divine weapon.
Why Is Your Mind So Important?
Imagine getting the greatest performance car in the world and deciding that you are going to take a serious run at the Indy 500 and dedicate yourself to winning it. What are the odds you will fill the tank with unleaded, low-octane gasoline from a run down thrifty discount service station?
OR - imagine that you were serious about competing in the marathon in the next Olympics. I mean this goal becomes an all consuming passion in your life. How likely would it be, that you would go on an all-chocolate diet, between now and the games?
OR – imagine that you are a brand new parent. You’ve just brought you new born son or daughter home from the hospital. What are the chances that you would just grab anything from the frig or pantry to feed them?
OKAY – I think you get the idea, we all tend to be very serious about what we put into the things that matter to us. People are very careful about what they fed their cars, their kids, their bodies, even their pets…
AND – business’ understanding this have turned what we put into our bodies into a multibillion dollar industry. AND they pay advertisers millions trying to convince us of what we need.
They tell us, that the secret to health; is a high carbs low fat diet; or high protein, fat is okay, with no carbs at all; or a 30-30-40 percentage split; or they tell us to avoid sugar at all costs. Others tell us that the secret to great health; is Atkins bars, Met-Rex bars, Power Bars, Slim Fast Shakes, Nutri- fast shakes, wheat germ shakes or a ½ gallon of Edys Double Fudge Brownie Ice Cream – (Actually, no one has come out with that diet yet, but when they do – I’m going to be their first customer).
LISTEN – we are very aware of the fact that the fuel that goes into things ultimately determines it’s performance and well-being. NOW – you may be thinking to yourself, ‘dah…you had to go to college to figure that one our Steve.’ HEY - I know that this truth does not surprise anyone here, right? Of course not we are all intelligent people.
AND THAT - is why it so amazing, so insane, that in the most important area of our lives – (our minds) - we pay no attention whatsoever, to what we put in to it.
LET ME – give you 3 reasons why your mind is important, #1 – BECAUSE…
You Are What You Think
Psychologist Archibald Hart writes, “Research has shown that one’s thought life influences every aspect of one’s being.” [repeat] he’s right…. LISTEN - whether you are filled with confidence or fear, depends on the kind of thoughts that occupy your mind on a regular basis.
Over the last 30 years or so, the most dominant movement in American psychology has been what is known as cognitive psychology. AND - Cognitive psychology is built around the truth that the way you think determines much about you…
The way you think creates attitudes; the way you think, shapes emotions; the way you think, governs your behavior; the way you think, even effects your immune system and your vulnerability to illness. LISTEN - everything about you flows out of the way you think… The way we like to summarize that truth here at Central is; that they way you think, determines how you feel, and the way you feel, determines how you act…
Now most of us - didn’t need modern psychology or nice little saying to tell us that, we know that from personal experience… AND – so did a guy in the bible, we know as Job…
“When I think about this, I am terrified; trembling seizes my body…” Job 21:6
[Job – he had a lot of stuff to think about. I mean this guy literally had troubles coming at him from nearly every direction. The context for Job 21:6, is Job thinking about how wicked people seem to have everything go their way… AND when Job thinks about this – he is terrified and trembling seizes his body…]
QUESTION – has that ever happened to you?
HAVE – your thoughts ever terrified you, to the point that your body literally trembled? Have you thoughts ever taken you to a place you’d rather not be?
I think you know what I’m talking about. You start thinking angry thoughts – you keep feeding that anger and before you know it, you are in a rage… OR - you start thinking depressing thoughts – (no body cares, I’m all alone, it will never get any better, I can’t do anything, I’m know good to anyone, ) and before you know it, you are on anti-depressant’s or you’re ready to slice your wrists… UNDERSTAND – this kind of negative self-talk can be very destructive…
In the 1 Samuel chapter seven we read of David’s great battle with Goliath…(what an awesome story. David’s faith enabling God’s power to move and kill a powerful enemy). BUT I can guarantee you, that David’s faith was not the only thinking taking place that day among God’s people, UNDERSTAND - there was a lot of negative self-talk going on, up in that mountain… (‘he’s so big, he’s killed so many, look at the size of that spear, if I go out their I’m dead…’) Scripture says in 1 Samuel 17 that whenever the Israelites saw Goliath they ran in fear… Why because what they thought – determined who they became.
LISTEN – the first reason that your mind is so important is BECAUSE – you are what you think… The second thing I want to point out is that;
You Think About What You Are Most Exposed To
“your life is shaped by your thoughts,” Pr 4:23 (GN)
You could call this the law of exposure… UNDERSTAND - what repeatedly enters your mind – will occupy your mind – and what occupies your mind will eventually shape your mind – and what shapes your mind will ultimately express itself in what you do and who you become.
AND LISTEN – the law of exposure is as unyielding as the law of gravity. Now no one is surprised by the law of gravity… “Woe, I pushed that glass plate over the edge of the table and it fell, hit the ground and broke, how did that happen…” No one would do this. BUT amazily people react to the law of exposure in total shock. They are surprised that what their minds are constantly exposed to, they are shocked when what they dwell on eventually comes out in how they feel and what they do…
Children are exposed to 1000 of acts of violence and murder on television and in even more graphic forms in movies and videos games. AND – our society is surprised when a fight breaks out in the bleachers at a football game – or when shootings at Columbine devastate an entire nation.
We are flooded with sexual images on tv sets, computer monitors, magazine covers, billboards and movie screens. I mean sexual images are every where… The exposure rate in absolutely incredible – yet we act surprised and shocked when teens have sex and babies outside of marriage – and we scratch our heads and have a confused look on our face when we see the levels of sexual addiction and promiscuity go up and marital faithfulness goes down – like a person pushing a plate over the edge of a table – we say woe how did that happen. THINK ABOUT IT – it is amazing, it is so incredible, that people think that they can keep violating the law of exposure and get away with it… I’m sure you’ve heard their mantras, you’ve heard what they say, maybe you’ve said the same thing - “I can read this material, I can watch these images, I can listen to these twisted words – but it doesn’t really effect me…I’m not really paying attention. It goes in one ear and out the other.” No it doesn’t. “your life is shaped by your thoughts..”
LISTEN – if enough teenage girls, look at enough magazine covers, featuring enough models, who are paid outrageous sums of money to make themselves unnaturally thin and then interview them, and quote them, as experts about what makes life worth living, we will raise a generation of young women whose minds are constantly filled with such thoughts as: “I’m not thin enough, I’m not pretty enough…”
AND if enough young men, fill their minds with enough pornographic material – if they allow those scenes and images to occupy their minds & thoughts they that to fill and shape their minds. They will never understand what it is to be a man and treat a woman with respect and appreciate her for more than just physical things…
LISTEN – the material you read, the music you hear, the images you watch, the sites you click on, the conversations you hold, the day dreams you entertain – are all shaping your mind and they will ultimately determine both your character and destiny…
“your life is shaped by your thoughts…”
A 3rd reason why your mind is important is because…
You Thoughts Can Defile You…
QUESTION – do your thoughts really matter? Is it really that big of a deal?
HEY – I have a hunch that there may be someone out there, who thinks that I am blowing this thought thing, way out of proportion. That I am making ‘much a do’ about nothing… So they checked out on me awhile back… IF – that is where you are you need to check back in…
LISTEN – your mind, your thoughts are powerful… AND BECAUSE – you are what you think – because what ever you are exposed to is what you think – satan wants to take over your thoughts. Why? because he knows that if he does your thoughts will defile you…
I want us to look at - a few passages of scriptures…that clearly teach that your thoughts can defile you.
The first passage that I want to look at, is one that we read on Monday January 21st in our Hang Time Journal, it’s in Mark chapter seven. In this chapter Jesus first encounters some religious leaders who are freaking out because Jesus’ disciples didn’t follow some ‘made made’ ritual involving washing their hands before eating… AND - Jesus in response tells them, “you are not defiled by what you eat; you are defiled by what you do and say..”
LATER – when Jesus was alone with the disciples, they asked him what he meant by that statement…. Check out what Jesus said;
“Can’t you see that what you eat won’t defile you? Food doesn’t come in contact with your heart, but only passes through the stomach and comes out again.. (by saying this he showed that every kind of food is acceptable). And then he added, “It is the thought-life that defiles you. For from within, out of a person’s heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, wickedness, deceit, eagerness for lustful pleasure, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. ALL these vile things come from within; they are what defile you and make you unacceptable to God…” Mk 7:18-23 (NLT)
CIRCLE – “It is the thought life that defiles you.”
LISTEN – every evil action that Jesus listed; pride, slander, murder, adultery, sexual immorality – every evil thing that you do, is first an evil thought… AND – according to Jesus that evil thought itself – is a big deal because it causes you to be unacceptable to God..
Here’s another passage that teaches the same thing… “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds…” Col 1:21
LISTEN – we can be enemies of God in our minds… our thoughts/our mind is important…
CIRCLE – “enemies in your minds”
Question # 2;
How Do You Make Your Mind Into A Divine Weapon
NOW – there is no debate that your mind is powerful. BUT UNDERSTAND - if you don’t do what it takes to make your mind a divine weapon – satan will use your mind to be his weapon, a weapon to devour you, to destroy you, to take back territory that is yours – to keep you from taking back what belongs to you…
LIKE I said your mind is your first line of defense against satan. IF you do not win the battle of the mind - you have lost the war…
So how do you turn your mind into a divine weapon?
In 2 Cor chapter 10, in the verse right after Paul talks about us using divine weapons to demolish the enemies strong holds he says;
“…we take captive EVERY thought to make it obedient to Christ…” 2 Cor 10:5
OKAY - that makes sense, you turn your mind into a divine weapon by taking your thoughts captive…
BUT – How do you take your thoughts captive? That answer is found in Romans 12.
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the RENEWING of your mind…: Rm 12:2
QUESTION – have believers ever conformed to the pattern of this world? Why is that?
LISTEN – the reason you & I conform to the pattern of this world is because of wrong thinking… is because we have not taken our thoughts captive, is because we have allowed satan to tell us what to think. We have allowed him to tell us what matters, what’s important, what’s of value, what’s okay to do
AND the way only way to overcome this is for us - to renew our minds… (in just a minute we will talk about how we do that…)
BUT – first I want to call your attention to the word ‘transformed” - it is the Greek word ‘metamorpheuo’ – it is where we get our English word ‘metamorphous.’
AND – the cool thing about the word transformation is that it is a passive voice verb… which means that the Christian, which means that the one renewing their mind - is being acted on… LISTEN – when we renew our minds – this allows God – to bring about a change in us… This is what allows us to become something different then we were…
You are responsible for renewing your minds and God brings about the transformation…
This entire transformation is hinged on one thing your mind…
Is you mind important – you bet it is…
Okay let’s try to get this down….
q You make your mind a divine weapon by, taking your thoughts captive & by making them obedient to Christ…
q And you take your thoughts captive by renewing your mind
The next question then is; How do you renew your mind? FIRST
1) By changing your exposure
You have to change the things that you expose your mind to…you have to begin using the law of exposure for good.
“Since you have been raised with Christ, SET your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. SET your minds on things above, not on earthly things. FOR you died and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory…” Col 3:1-4
“Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, what is admirable – if anything is excellent or praise worthy – THINK about such things…and the God of peace will be with you.” Phil 4:8,9
“Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, FIX your THOUGHTS on Jesus.” Hebrews 3:1
CIRCLE – “set your minds on things above, not on earthly things…”
“think about such things”
“fix your thoughts on Jesus”
LISTEN – if you are serious about renewing your mind (and you should be) – you going to have to make some changes in what you put into your mind… Stop watching, reading and listening to certain things…
AND - If you find yourself thinking the wrong way - stop…
The 2nd thing you need to do, to renew your mind is
2) Increase your bible input…
Read Psalm 19:7-11
LISTEN - If you want to renew your mind (and you should – because if you don’t you’ve already lost the war and will never be transformed) if you want to renew your mind - start putting more bible into it… start filling you mind with God’s thoughts, with heavenly instead of earthly thoughts. How?
Do a QT every day
Be here every Sunday to hear the word
Go to at least one bible study
3) Adopt soaking practices
Start meditating and soaking on God’s word..
“They love the Lord’s teachings and they think about those teaching day and night. They are like a tree planted by a river. The tree produces fruit in season, and it’s leaves don’t die. Everything they do will succeed.” Ps 1:2,3
“Study the book of the law continually. Meditate on it day and night so you may be sure to obey all that is written in it…Only then will you succeed.” Joshua 1:8
The writer of Psalm 119 (probably Ezra) was a big time soaker…12 times he uses the word meditate.
“Though rulers sit together and slander me, your servant will meditate on your decrees.” (23)
Read Ps 119:97-105
What is meditation - Meditation is focus thinking about a Bible verse in order to discover how you can apply its truth to your own life. The word for meditation is also the word for rumination. Rumination is the process where a cow chews it’s cud, swallows it, regurgitates it, chews it again, swallows it...going through that process about 7 times. The reason the cow does this is to drain every bit of nourishment from the grass.
That’s what we want to do with God’s word. We want to focus our thinking on it, trying to drain every bit of nourishment from it. Soak in it – become saturated…
(Maybe if I explain negative meditation – it would help.. Worry -- is negative mediation/regurgitation. Are you a worrier? Has it ever impacted your life?)
