The Battlefield Of The Mind Series

The Battlefield of the Mind

Dr. Marty Baker

Romans 12:2

2 Corinthians 10:4-5

February 2, 2003

www.stevenscreek.net

This past week, millions of Americans watched the State of the Union Address. We heard President Bush speak about several different issues. But, you know the one thing that was at the fore front of most of our minds was the impending war with Iraq. Next Wednesday, Colin Powell will present our case before the United Nations.

Right now, there are plans for 200,000 people to be in the Middle East waiting for the President’s call into battle. These battles will not be like anything we’ve ever seen before. They may involve Patriot missiles, Stinger missiles, laser-guided weapons, the Tube-launched, optically-tracked, wire-guided missiles, and a whole host of other technologically advanced weaponry. These staples of modern war are vastly different than the weapons of former generations.

Most of us have never fought in a war, and many of us never will. The closest that we will get to this war in Iraq will be sitting at home watching it unfold on the News.

War is immanent, but not just the war in the Middle East. Do you realize that right now each of us is engaged in a battle? Even before we witness one bomb being dropped in Baghdad, there are battles already raging inside of each one of us.

I am not talking about battles that are fought with biological weapons and chemical warfare that will be used on the battlefield that is known as the Iraqi theater.

No, I am talking about the constant battle that we have every minute of every hour and every hour of every day and every day of every year of our lives. I am talking about the struggles in the theater of our minds. Over the last several of weeks, we have been in a series called Mind Games. This series has been based on Romans 12:2.

Romans 12:2

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is-- his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Today we continue with "The Battlefield of the Mind". Last week there was a battle on the gridiron fought in San Diego. Well, if you were one of the 137 million Americans that watched Pastor Todd’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers beat the Oakland Raiders in the Super Bowl, you would know that there was not much of a battle.

The real battle took place in-between plays. Our nation was bombarded with visual images and advertising campaigns that fought for our attention. In fact, companies spent 2.1 million dollars for a single 30 second advertisement. Well, what did we see? (Show censored slides of advertisements)

Well, most of the things that we saw last week may embarrass us a little in this setting. It seems as if the advertisements lean toward the sensual and the seductive. There’s no doubt that explicit ads gather the most attention. The sad reality is that the images that parade across our screens present only one side of the story. They fail to mention how many people are wounded with the arrows of alcohol. They fail to mention how many diseases are spread and how many marriages are hurt by promiscuity. Advertisers have a way of presenting half-truths and making it seem like the whole story. It’s a game they play - a mind game.

Modern advertisers are not the first ones to play with our minds. Since the Garden of Eden we have been wrestling with an evil force that seeks to destroy everything that is good in our lives. This evil force is named Satan. He is more than a cartoon character; he is an enemy that wages war against you. His primary battlefield is in your mind. He seeks to control you through negative self-talk, static images, and obsessive thoughts.

You need to remember that Satan’s great weapon against you is deception. If he can convince you to believe things that are not true, then he can control your life. Remember the words of :

Proverb 23:7

As a man thinks in his heart, so he becomes.

If Satan can get you thinking negative thoughts, then you will become a negative person. Satan is a deceiver. He promises you one thing, but gives you another. He tricks you into thinking you are a helpless victim who will need years of group therapy the rest of your life.

Satan tells you that sin is just a part of being a man, and their is nothing you can do about it. He knows a lot about addictions and he makes you believe that you’re not really addicted. He convinces you that you are off the hook and that you are not required to live an obedient life because God understands your situation and wants you to be happy.