WORDS OF DISTINCTION – “Mind”
INTRODUCTION: We CONTINUE in our series on “Words of Distinction”. We have looked at the words “daily”, “adoption”, “rather”, “sleep”, and “pleasure”. TODAY, we look at the word “mind”.
If you are a Christian, Satan has declared war on YOU. You are his ENEMY. There is a BATTLE going on every day. It’s a SPIRITUAL BATTLE - Ephesians 6:12 – “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
AND … the battlefield is your MIND. Satan has declared war on YOU … your FAMILY … your MARRIAGE … your FAITH … your CHURCH … your CHRISTIAN LIFE. He’s good at it … he’s been doing it for thousands of years. He’s experienced … he’s had millions of battles … you’re not his first!
We are at war in Iraq. If we were to come to a head-to-head war with Iraq, the war would be over in just a few days. With our military might, they wouldn’t stand a chance. Why are we still there? Why haven’t we defeated them yet? During all the days of bombing, they never fought back (they couldn’t).
Why haven’t we defeated them by now? BECAUSE … they fight like the Devil! They come out of nowhere … just a few at a time. They attack like snipers … then retreat. They take us by surprise, when we’re not looking. We don’t know WHO they are … WHERE they are.
That’s how Satan attacks your “mind”. If he were to engage in an all-out war, head-to-head with us, we would be ready. BUT … he attacks us when we aren’t ready … when our “minds” are in neutral … when we don’t recognize him. He attacks … AND THEN … retreats.
There are several things I want us to see this A.M. about the battle for your “mind”.
I. Your Mind Under Satan’s Control
II. Your Mind Under God’s Control
The Bible talks about the TWO MINDS.
Romans 8:5-6 – “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. [6] For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
Let’s take a look at the TWO MINDS:
I. YOUR MIND UNDER SATAN’S CONTROL
Satan wants to control your mind … mind-control … brain-washing. He will use your mind as his weapon to control you, defeat you, devour you. If you don’t learn to control/master your thoughts, Satan will win the war. You HAVE to win the battle for your mind.
Romans 7:23 – “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. Let’s take a look at this WAR for your mind.
There are 2 things I want us to take a look at:
1.- You Are What You Think
Proverbs 23:7 – “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:” Your thought-life affects everything about you … how you act … how you feel … how you live.
o If you THINK negative thoughts … you will ACT in a negative way.
o If you THINK sad things … you will BE sad.
o If you THINK you’re sick … you will FEEL sick.
o If you THINK you’re worthless… you’ll TURN OUT to be worthless.
o If you THINK bad thoughts … you’ll DO bad things.
BUT … on the other hand …
If you THINK Godly things … you’ll ACT more Godly! (more on that later).
When you let the Devil control the way you think, you will live in fear, anger, depression … and even with thoughts of suicide. You are what you think.
2.- You Think About What You’re Exposed To
How did you learn your multiplication tables … States & Capitals … Bible verses? REPETITION! What you put into your minds, REPEATEDLY, will OCCUPY your mind. What OCCUPIES your mind, will ultimately express itself in your lifestyle.
What are we EXPOSED to … REPEATEDLY?
o Acts Of Violence – Movies, TV, video games. AND, we wonder WHY there is such violence … so much fighting … such crime … such things as Columbine. DUH!
o Sexual Images – TV, movies, magazines, billboards, internet. AND, we wonder why we have so many unwed mothers, rape, sexual abuse on women and children. DUH!
Your life is shaped by your thoughts. You think about what you are constantly being exposed to. AND … your THOUGHTS determines what you will be … happy or sad … successful or failure … good or bad … carnal or spiritual.
The battle for YOUR MIND began the minute you were saved. BEFORE you were saved, your MIND was controlled by your father, the Devil.
Ephesians 2:3 – all turn.
What kind of a MIND did we have?
1.- A Reprobate mind - Romans 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;”
“reprobate” means ‘to take a test, and fail it’. God looks on the “minds” of the lost … and they FAIL the test. WHY? Because their minds are filled with everything … but God!
Their “minds” are “vanity” … ‘empty’, when it comes to spiritual life, God-centered thoughts, anything that pleases God. Ephesians 4:17 – “ This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,”
That’s not to say that the lost can’t DO good things, SAY good things, ACT in good ways. They CAN … BUT … they do it in the flesh … AND … God doesn’t honor it, because it doesn’t honor God. Titus 1:15 – “but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.”
2.- Blinded Minds – 2 Cor. 4:4 – “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.”
The LOST are BLINDED to the things of God. UNLESS/UNTIL their “minds” are opened by the Holy Spirit, they will continue walking in darkness.
II. YOUR MIND UNDER GOD’S CONTROL – Isaiah 26:3 – all turn.
What kind of a “mind-set” does God give you? Just like Satan wants to control your MIND … so does God.
What kind of “mind” does God have in store for you?
1.- The Mind Of Christ - Philippians 2:5 – “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”
We all have our “own minds” about things, don’t we?
o What is right/wrong.
o What is good/bad.
o How we should act … talk … think … live.
God’s not interested in YOUR OPINIONS about these things. OPINIONS are a dime a dozen … everyone has one. God wants you to have the “mind of Christ” on everything you do, say, think. The “mind” of Jesus is PURE … He only wants what God wants. That’s the “mind” God wants you to have.
2.- The Mind Of Love - Matthew 22:37 – “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”
We love God by using our MIND. What you LOVE, you THINK about, don’t you? If you love to FISH, you think about fishing all the time. Hunting … bowling … stained glass … Remember your COURTING days? You thought about him/her all the time, didn’t you?
Jesus said that we are to love Him with all our MIND. How often do you THINK about Him? This is a GAUGE for our LOVE for Him.
3.- A Renewed Mind - Romans 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.”
Have you ever had a “change of mind”? That’s a “woman’s prerogative”, isn’t it? God wants you to “change your mind” about some things … He wants you to have a “renewed mind”.
What are some things that you might need to “change your mind” about? John 16:8 – “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:”
o SIN – It’s called “repentance”. You might need to see your sin through God’s eyes … for what it did to His Son, Jesus.
o RIGHTEOUSNESS – We might need to take a hard look at how we live … AND … compare it to how God would have us live.
o JUDGMENT – We should live our lives with eternity in view … in light of the fact that one day we will all have to stand before God and give an account of how we lived the Christian life.
We need a “renewed mind” … a “changed mind”. Ephesians 4:23 – ‘And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;’
4.- One Mind - Romans 15:6 – “That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The Bible mentions this one MORE than all the rest: (just to name a few)
o Philippians 1:27 – “…that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel;”
o 1 Peter 3:8 – “Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another …”
o Philippians 2:2 - …”that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.”
This isn’t suggesting that we become a bunch of clones, robots, zombies. We all have DIFFERENT IDEAS about things. BUT … we should all have the SAME GOAL … to bring honor and glory to Christ.
Will we always agree? I hope not … because I’m not always right! Disagreement and diversity in thought is what keeps me in line. It makes me think about what I’m doing and thinking … if it’s the “mind of Christ” or not.
“one mind” has to do with our ONE GOAL … to bring honor and glory to God. Even though we might have different IDEAS about things … we should all be of “one mind” … to bring glory to God. That’s the COMMON GOAL that we stand on.
CONCLUSION:
There are many more kinds of “minds” that God mentions in the Scriptures … that He wants us to have. A WILLING mind … a READY mind … a LOWLY mind … a SOBER mind … a PURE mind … a SOUND mind … a SERVING mind … a FERVENT mind …
They all boil down to this. There is a BATTLE going on for YOUR MIND. Satan never lets up. He’s always in the battle. You need to KNOW it … you need to be IN THE BATTLE. YOUR MIND is at stake.
You are what you THINK … you THINK about what you’re exposed to. Let me leave you with this one verse. Philippians 4:8 – “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.”
STAND – PRAYER
HYMN - #347 – “I Surrender All”
OUTLINE FOR HANDOUT:
WORDS OF DISTINCTION – “Mind”
INTRODUCTION: Ephesians 6:12 – “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
o The Bible talks about 2 minds - Romans 8:5-6 – “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. [6] For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
I. YOUR MIND UNDER SATAN’S CONTROL
o Romans 7:23 – “But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.”
1.- You Are What You Think - Proverbs 23:7 – “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:”
2.- You Think About What You’re Exposed To – Ephesians 2:3
1.- A Reprobate Mind - Romans 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;”
Ephesians 4:17 – “This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,”
Titus 1:15 – “but unto them that are defiled and unbelieving is nothing pure; but even their mind and conscience is defiled.”
2.- Blinded Minds - 2 Cor. 4:4 – “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.”
II. YOUR MIND UNDER GOD’S CONTROL – Isaiah 26:3
1.- The Mind Of Christ - Philippians 2:5 – “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”
2.- The Mind Of Love - Matthew 22:37 – “Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.”
3.- A Renewed Mind - Romans 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.”
John 16:8 – “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:”
Ephesians 4:23 – “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;”
4.- One Mind - Romans 15:6 – “That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 1:27, 1 Peter 3:8, Philippians 2:2
CONCLUSION: Philippians 4:8 – “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.”
PRISCILLA BAPTIST CHURCH – Ray Scott, Pastor
