THE GREAT ESCAPE – Winning the Battle for Your Mind
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
INTRODUCTION:
Three simple truths:
[1] I am a child of God. “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1 NIV)
[2] I am alive in Christ. As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins . . . But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:1, 4-5 (NIV)
[3] I am a new creation. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV)
All of us agree that these statements are true. Yet if we are honest we have all found ourselves wondering at one time or another, “If what the Bible tells me about my identity in Christ is true, then why do I still battle the same thoughts and feelings that I had before I became a Christian?” “Why can’t I break free from these things that haunt my mind?”
Would you like to know the answer to such questions about yourself? This morning we continue THE GREAT ESCAPE, Winning the Battle for our Minds.
• 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NIV)
[3] For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. [4] The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. [5] We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
So why do we still battle with the same thoughts and feelings that we had before we became a Christians? Paul said, “We are human, but we don’t wage war with human plans and methods” (2 Cor. 10:3 NLT). We are now Christians, yet we still live in the world, but we don’t go to war as the world does. Therein is our problem; the battle for our mind cannot be won using the same thinking we had before we accepted Christ. YET MANY OF US STILL TRY TO WIN THE BATTLE FOR OUR MIND THE SAME WAY WE ALWAYS DID.
As we grew up from childhood to adults we all learned to respond to life in a variety of ways, but each response had one thing in common. We learned to go through life without God; we were unaware of His presence in our lives and we did not know His ways. WE ALL LEARNED TO LIVE OUR LIVES INDEPENDENT FROM GOD.
ILLUSTRATION: Even those of us who grow up in a Christian home still grew up learning to think independently of God. I had good Christian parents who took me to church every time the doors were opened. I made Jesus my savior at an early age. I grew up aware of God and His love for me; by the age of twelve I knew that God had called me into the ministry (at the age of two I was my mom’s “preacher boy” lining up all my stuffed animals and preaching to them). Yet I also grew up IN THE WORLD. As a child I learned the values of the world from friends and family, by listening to the radio, watching TV and radio. While my parents taught me to know God, the world taught me to live as though God didn’t exist or if He did, then he didn’t care how I lived my life. By the time I was a teenager I was to say the least CONFUSED. I became an expert at putting on masks to be the person others expected me to be. I grew up insecure of myself and uncertain about my abilities. I lived in self-doubt because I knew others were stronger and smarter than I was. I longed for acceptance and would do anything to be a part of the “in crowd”, and unfortunately I did and said some things I regretted. My insecurity and self-doubt was validated by the condemnation and guilt I felt for my sin. I sometimes questioned if God could even love me anymore. As a young adult having renewed my commitment to Christ and wanting to follow him I continued to struggle with my identity. Even after I became a minister I still struggled with feelings of inferiority and a sense of unworthiness. While I was living as a Christian, I still carried around the same pattern of thinking I had grown up with. The world had done a good job of programming my mind to think a certain way.
Likewise when you became a Christian no one put your old way of thinking into the “recycle bin” and then permanently deleted it. Everything you learned through life and all the feelings that came along with it were still programmed into your mind even after you accepted Christ as your savior. The battle for your mind continues to this day. Your thoughts can still conform to the pattern of the world; your thinking can still be skewed.
That’s why Paul tells to not “conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Romans 12:2 NIV). Our thinking has to be reprogrammed; we have been given the mind of Christ only now we need to learn to use it.
• 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NIV)
[3] For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. [4] The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, THEY HAVE DIVINE POWER TO DEMOLISH STRONGHOLDS.
Within our thinking we have given Satan strongholds. The devil has a vice-like grip on our thinking and won’t let go; Satan has fortified his position and wants to continue to influence your thinking. The devil won’t let go of his stranglehold on our lives as long as we continue to follow our old way of thinking.
Growing up we all learned to cope with life in a variety of ways; some of our coping mechanism are not always healthy emotionally or spiritually. Psychologists refer to these unhealthy patterns of thinking as defense mechanisms, and none of them are consistent with the thinking God wants us to have as Christians. Defense mechanisms come in all shapes and sizes:
DISHONESTY—to lie in order to hide the truth about oneself
DENIAL—a conscious or subconscious refusal to accept the world the way it really is
FANTASY—to escape the real world and live in one’s imagination
EMOTIONAL INSULATION—to withdraw from others to avoid rejection
REGRESSION—to revert to safer less threatening times
DISPLACEMENT—to take anger and frustration out on others
PROJECTION—to blame other people for your problems
RATIONALIZATION—to make excuses for what you say or do
These defense mechanisms are the strongholds the enemy will use to control your life. They are the patterns of thinking programmed into your mind when you lived independently of God.
Paul said the weapons of our warfare have divine power to demolish strongholds! The wrong way of thinking can be reprogrammed. If you believed a lie, then you can renounce the lie and choose to believe the truth.
Satan won’t just leave you alone because you are a Christian. He will run to the strongholds in your mind that were built up before you came to Christ. The devil still tries to manipulate your thoughts to accomplish his desires. Satan wants to continually penetrate your thoughts with his thoughts, to reinforce the lies you have believed and distort God’s truth. Why? SATAN KNOWS THAT IF HE CAN CONTROL YOUR THOUGHTS THEN HE CAN CONTROL YOUR LIFE.
How are we to overcome the strongholds we have allowed Satan to build in our lives?
• 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and WE TAKE CAPTIVE EVERY THOUGHT TO MAKE IT OBEDIENT TO CHRIST.
Paul says to take every thought captive, forcibly make your thoughts obey Christ. The battle for your spiritual freedom is within your mind! Paul shows us clearly how the devil works as we look carefully at what he says in this second letter to the Corinthian church.
Satan’s scheming
• 2 Corinthians 2:11 (GW)
I don’t want Satan to outwit us. After all, we are not ignorant about Satan’s scheming.
Satan is devious in his trickery; he calculates his plan wanting to outwit us. “Scheming” is the Greek word “noema;” it is the same word translated “thought” in 2 Corinthians 10:5. Satan’s schemes are within the thoughts. Paul uses this word again:
• 2 Corinthians 4:4 (NIV)
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Here “noema” is translated minds. Satan’s underhanded schemes are not removed from us, but his schemes are engaged within our minds. “Noema” is similarly translated “minds” again in:
• 2 Corinthians 11:3 (NIV)
But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
Are you beginning to get the picture of how Satan works against you? Satan runs to the strongholds within your mind; he engages you within your thoughts. Your battle for freedom is within your mind. Your thinking must be transformed as your mind is renewed.
MARTIN LUTHER WROTE: “The Devil throws hideous thoughts into the soul—hatred of God, blasphemy, and despair.” Writing of his personal struggle with Satan Luther said, “When I awake at night, the Devil tarries not to seek me out. He disputes with me and makes me give birth to all kinds of strange thoughts . . . The devil understands how to produce arguments that exasperate me. Sometimes he has produced such as to make me doubt whether or not there is a God.”
The Brain vs. the Mind
When it comes to the process of human thought, there is still much we don’t understand; however, we do know that there is a fundamental difference between the brain and the mind. The brain is the grey matter inside your head; it is the physical organ giving direction to the other parts of your body through an intricate system of nerves. Doctors can point to different areas of the brain that control various functions of our body. When you die your brain will return to dust, but not your mind.
Your mind while somehow connected to your brain is not physical. Your mind is the real you; the mind resides within your spirit and soul. Your mind is eternal because when you die your spirit and soul separates from your body. For the believer Paul says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. However we won’t be mindless spirits; the mind will live on with the spirit and soul.
ILLUSTRATION: Our ability to think and reason is similar to the way a computer functions. The computer hardware with all of its wires and circuitry is like our brain; it is the physical part. However, the computer is useless without the software. Programs must be installed to the memory of the computer in order for it to function. The software, like the mind is not physical; you can add or remove software from your computer and yet you won’t make the computer heavier or lighter. The physical part of the computer remains unchanged by the software it contains. But the hardware is useless without the software.
Our society assumes that if something is not working right between your ears, then it is a HARDWARE PROBLEM. If you struggle with suicidal thoughts, if you are depressed, if you are paranoid, anxious, fearful—you fill in the blanks—what ever mental problem you could possibly have, it must be caused by some chemical imbalance or some other physical problem with your brain. Therefore if you take the right pill, if you eat certain foods, if you do this or that, then we can cure your brain and the problem will go away. The reason doctors and psychiatrists think it is a hardware problem in your brain is because our western culture does not accept in the spiritual realm.
Whatever may be going on between your ears is not a hardware problem; it is a SOFTWARE PROBLEM. In other words, your problem is not physical but spiritual. You need to change the programming within your thinking, to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. You have developed certain patterns of thought that have given Satan a stronghold in your life; if Satan can control the way you think he can control your life. You don’t need a pill; you need to stop waging war as the world and use weapons with divine power to demolish strongholds by taking every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ.
How can a chemical imbalance in your brain create a suicidal thought? How can nerve endings that aren’t making proper connection make you think that you are a bad person; you’re evil and only cause trouble? How can any physical problem in your brain cause an immaterial nonphysical thought of any kind? “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood;” it is not a physical problem. Our struggle is “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms;” we are engaged in a spiritual battle! (See: Ephesians 6:12)
How are we to overcome the strongholds we have allowed Satan to build in our lives? How do we break free from the negative, lying condemning thoughts that fill our minds?
• 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NIV)
We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and WE TAKE CAPTIVE EVERY THOUGHT TO MAKE IT OBEDIENT TO CHRIST.
Take every thought captive; make your thinking obedient to Christ. You overcome destructive and wrong ways of thinking; you break down the strongholds of the enemy by changing the way you think. So how do we demolish arguments? How do we tear down strongholds that try to keep us from knowing God? How do we take our thoughts captive? Here’s the answer:
• Philippians 4:4-8 (NIV)
[4] Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! [5] Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. [6] Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. [7] And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
[8] Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
What does Paul want us to take away from these verses? What can the Holy Spirit teach us about taking every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ? I want to share with you three take-a-ways that you can use to win the battle for your mind: DEVELOP, DEPEND and DEFEND.
1. Develop God awareness; God is with you always.
• Philippians 4:4-5 (NIV)
[4] Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! [5] Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Some Christians go from day to day with little or no awareness of God’s presence with them in their lives. They live as though God were distant and unconcerned about their lives. THE LORD IS NEAR.
If you are going to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ, then you must develop an awareness that THE LORD IS NEAR. An awareness of the closeness of the Lord will benefit you in two ways: [1] you will know that God is always with you, and [2] you will know that Jesus’ second coming is close, that you will spend all eternity in His presence; you will see Him face to face.
With a God awareness you will live and think differently. When you know that God is always with you, that He is close, right by your side you will have a changed way of seeing the world.
Paul says “Rejoice in the Lord” and then he underscores it with an exclamation mark “I will say it again, REJOICE!” Can I just be honest on a Sunday morning? Until you are aware of God’s presence you will have a hard time rejoicing. A God awareness takes your focus off your circumstances an enables your mind to think upon God. With a God awareness you can rejoice!
If you get up in the morning or find yourself at work and negative thoughts fill your mind, then begin to develop a God awareness. You may say, “But pastor I don’t feel Jesus with me.” It isn’t about what you feel; its about developing or growing in you awareness of the reality that God is with you.
Have you ever ignored someone? You just pretended that they were not there; you walked past them and refused to talk to them. Satan wants you to ignore God, to live like He isn’t there. Break free from the devil’s lie and develop a God awareness; the Holy Spirit is with you. Say, “Jesus thank you that you are with me; I believe that You are always with me just as you have promised ‘to never leave me nor forsake me.’ God I know I am not alone; you are here and you care for me.”
Don’t concern yourself about what people will think; SPEAK THE TRUTH AND BELIEVE IT. God is with you always. Do you know what it is called when you verbally speak the truth about God? It’s called rejoicing in the Lord! The more you declare the truth about God, the greater your awareness of God will be, and when you are aware of His presence your countenance will change.
Paul also said, “Let your gentleness be evident to all.” When you have a God awareness your spirit is at rest; instead of trying to do things in your own strength you depend upon God to help you. This makes you gentle; you can respond with calmness and kindness.
When you are unaware of God’s presence then your tension will increase. Your focus is on your circumstances and your ability and resources and the result will lead to outbursts of anger, anxiety, fear and depression to name just a few. Develop an awareness of God’s presence with you in your life and He will produce gentleness in your life as evidence that He is with you.
THE LORD IS NEAR! Be conscious of the reality of God’s presence with you always. Develop a God awareness.
2. Depend upon God in everything; pray continually.
• Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
[6] Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. [7] And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
When you are anxious, when you are fearful, when you find yourself worrying about anything and everything, YOU ARE ENGAGED IN A SPIRITUAL BATTLE. Satan has run to a stronghold an is manipulating your thoughts. It is time to fight back and win the battle for your mind!
PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING. Last time I checked, everything meant just that EVERYTHING WITHOUT EXCEPTION.
To pray about everything is the opposite of praying about NOTHING. In the continuum between the two extremes of nothing and everything are you closer to remaining independent and praying about nothing or are you learning to depend upon God and pray about everything?
Notice Paul says when we pray bringing our requests to God we should do it “with THANKSGIVING.” Giving thanks is not just thanking God for what He has done, but it is also to thank Him for what He is going to do! Thanksgiving sees by faith the preferable future God has planned for you. Are you only going to look at your negative circumstances or will you by faith see what God is going to do?
God’s word says He will work out ALL THINGS TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF THOSE WHO LOVE HIM. Are going to believe for the good that God is working out? Are you able to thank Him in advance? When you do that’s when you are winning the battle for your mind.
What happens as you begin to win the battle for your mind through depending upon God in prayer? The peace of God that transcends all understanding, peace that doesn’t make sense in the midst of the storms of life—God’s peace—will guard your heart and mind. In the midst of your struggle God will give you rest. And isn’t that what Jesus promised to those who would come to him?
• Matthew 11:28 (MsgB)
"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest.
If you are going to win the battle for your mind, then develop a God awareness; Jesus has promised to never leave you nor forsake you. When you are aware of God’s presence in your life depend upon God for everything; pray continually and open your heart to God. Finally:
3. Defend your heart and mind; be single minded in your thinking.
• Philippians 4:7-8 (NIV)
[7] And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
[8] Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
Paul says when all is said and done, THINK ABOUT THE RIGHT THINGS. Don’t let yourself slip back into the negative thinking that will hold you in bondage. Chose to think about the right things! Making the decision to defend your heart and not return to your old pattern of thinking can be a difficult challenge. You have been accustomed to living in bondage; how will you live now that you are free and have won the battle for your mind?
ILLUSTRATION: The “Introduction to the James Hunter Terrell Letters” describes the freedom of Dr. Terrell’s slaves, and their adjustment to freedom, not in America where they were born and raised, but in Africa. “Slavery was an accepted part of this life. Dr. Terrell had been accustomed to the possession of slaves from his earliest recollection. He accepted it as the proper relation between black man and white. There had always been a strong feeling against slavery, and as time went on it became more and more bitter . . . At his death, he left a most unusual will. "I hereby liberate and forever set free all the slaves which I may own at my death and their increase." But that was only half the problem, there was no place in the life of Virginia for a free negro. So the will further provided that each negro should have the choice of selecting his own master and returning to slavery, or of being sent to Africa . . . Great was the rejoicing of the negroes when they learned of their freedom. The hardships they were to face, the sorrow of leaving the home where they had been born and raised were not thought of in that first ecstasy. But as the time for departure drew near some grew doubtful . . . But it was too late to turn back, and on December 6, 1856 they sailed from Norfork . . . They were under the care of the American Colonial Society, which had been organized for the purpose of returning negroes to Africa and had established a colony for them in Liberia. It was a strange adventure -- colonists returning to the land from which their ancestor’s had been brought as slaves; but a land strange and foreign to them. (http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/subjects/liberia/TerIntr.html)
Winning the battle for our minds and living in freedom can seem “strange and foreign.” It may even seem more comfortable to return to those things that we have been accustomed to. When we are first free it may be easier to return to the familiar prison cell that held us captive than to live in freedom. Don’t make the mistake of returning to your captor! Defend your heart and live in freedom.
God will not force Himself upon you! God is not going to make you live in freedom. Jesus has done everything necessary for you to live in freedom; the choice is yours. Like Dr. Terrell’s slaves you are free to choose a new master and return to slavery, or you can live in freedom. REMEMBER YOU ARE PERSONALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR SPIRITUAL CONDITION. I can’t believe for you; I can’t take every thought into captivity for you. It is up to you to be free.
But you don’t have to defend your mind alone; you don’t have to do it in your own strength. God defends your heart with his peace. Jesus has set a given you His Holy Spirit as a guardian to help you protect your mind, but you must choose to accept His assistance.
• James 4:6-8 (NIV)
But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." [7] Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
God is ready to help you; “HE GIVES US MORE GRACE!” You don’t have to try to win the battle for your mind in your own strength. God will equip and empower you. His Spirit, the Spirit of Truth will help you discern which thoughts to hold onto and which ones to let go of. But the choice is yours.
“God opposes the proud.” As long as you return to your old ways of thinking, as long as you continue in the ways you thought before you accepted Christ when you lived independently from God, you will be on your own. Break free from your independent spirit and depend fully upon God; humble yourself.
Submit to God and resist the devil.” Make the choice to think upon the right things. Make the choice to depend upon God and His strength. When Satan sees you standing next to Jesus, “he will free from you.” Satan know he has been beaten; the devil is no match for Jesus.
You can win the battle for your mind; you can be free.
• 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NIV)
[3] For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. [4] The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. [5] We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
You can take every thought into captivity and live in freedom as you:
[1] Develop God awareness; Jesus will never leave you nor forsake you.
[2] Depend upon God; pray continually; pray about everything with thanksgiving.
[3] Defend your heart; don’t go back to your old ways of thinking.
Portions of this sermon are adapted from The Bondage Breaker, Neil T. Anderson. Chapter 4 “You can win the battle for your mind”
