Every Thought Captive

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EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE

I. Introduction

[1] Horse story – Farmer and Neighbor

A farmer was visiting with his neighbor, talking about an old horse that was in the corral. The horse was long in the tooth, far beyond his best years. The neighbor said “Well, if you want to sell him, I’ll take him off your hands and give you $300 for him. The farmer said “That’s more than he’s worth, but if you want the horse, I’ll let you have him for $300.

A day or two later, the farmer visited his neighbor and, rather sheepishly, said, “You know neighbor, it didn’t sit right with me selling that horse. I’ve had him since he was a foal, and it was like selling an old friend. I’ll give you $600 if you’ll sell him back to me.” The neighbor said, “I understand how you feel. You can have him back for $600.”

The next day the neighbor came back to the farmer and said, “I didn’t realize my kids had fallen in love with that gentle old horse, so they could ride him around the corral. They’re heartbroken. If you’ll sell him back to me again I’ll double your money and sweeten it a little. I’ll give you $1,500 and promise the horse will be well-treated and have a nice retirement home.” The farmer said, “Well, I don’t want to disappoint the kids just because I’m sentimental. Sure, I’ll sell him to you for $1,500.”

A short time later, the farmer drove to the neighbor’s house in a rush, dust flying behind his pickup. Leaving the door open and the engine running, he hurried up to the neighbor and said, “I’ve got to have that horse. I had forgotten that I had given that horse to my wife years ago and she considered him her horse. My marriage is in real trouble. I’ll double your money and sweeten it. Please sell him back to me for $3,500. For that amount you can get a better horse.” The neighbor said “Far be it from me to stand in the way of repairing a rift between you and your wife. Sure, the horse is hers for $3,500.

A couple of days later the neighbor hurried up to the farmer’s house and came running up the farmer, waving a check for $7,500. Out of breath, he started, “I’ll give you $7,500 for that horse…” The farmer held up his hand and stopped him. “The horse died.”

“DIED?!" sputtered the neighbor. "That’s awful! What a shame! We’ve both been making a living selling that horse."

Neighbor had a “thinking problem,” what a good friend of mine calls “stinkin’ thinkin’.”

Thoughts are vitally important to Christians – thoughts are the battlefield in the war for your soul!

They not only control our actions – our thoughts determine who we are.

[2] Proverbs 23:7 As he thinks in his heart, so is he. (KJV)

“as he thinks within himself” (NASB)

The Psalmist sees the self inside and the way we present that self to others as different things.

It is the true and undisguised thoughts inside him, that the person is.

For those without the law, their thoughts are the basis of God’s judgment:

[2a] …they [those who do not have the law] show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus. (Romans 2:15)

Look at the context of Prov 23:7. Who is “he” in this verse?

[2B]V6 – “Do not eat the bread of a selfish man, or desire his delicacies”

In the context, the one who is as he thinks in his heart is specifically the selfish man-he whose delicacies we are not to desire.

Note: the selfishness of a selfish man is something inside himself, as the word “self” in “selfish” so reveals.

We have-rightly I think-inferred that whatever thoughts live within a person, are the person’s true identity—not what he displays on the outside.

What do you think in your inner self?

The answer to that question is the same as the question: Who are you?

It may not be a very easy question to answer honestly.

II. The Mind and the Heart

I have read that in Hebrew there is no word that specifically means mind or brain.

When the Hebrew language of the Bible was in use, the physical heart was believed to be the center of a person’s consciousness, in fact…