"Thought Arrest!"
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· 9 viewsThis message is about how to deal with your thought life.
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Take your Bibles & let’s turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 10. We’re going to look at verses 1-6.
I know we’ve all heard of the phrase HOUSE ARREST, but have you heard of the phrase THOUGHT ARREST.
Before we read these passages, allow me to set the stage. There were some who OPPOSED the work of the Gospel on every turn.
They were men who operated in the NATURAL, & relied solely on worldly human philosophy & reasoning, & not on what GOD’S WORD teaches.
In other words, they lived their lives thinking, reasoning, & operating after the appetites of their flesh, the world, & the Devil rather than in the Word & Spirit of the Lord Jesus.
They accused Paul, verses 1 & 2, of being guilty of what they were guilty of - PRIDE (“am base among you”), & MISBEHAVIOR (“as if we walked according to the flesh”).
Paul taught that sinners are saved by the GRACE OF GOD.
8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
This is WHERE the rub came in. The opposition came from ONE SOURCE, but many places & ways.
Some in Paul’s day, basically believed in salvation by works i.e. circumcision, keeping the Law etc.
When the flesh, the world, & the Devil clashes with the Spirit, we have SPIRITUAL WARFARE taking place.
How did the Apostle approach this situation? Verse 1 says with MEEKNESS, GENTLENESS, LOVE, & TRUTH.
These were (2) spiritual inward graces that reflected the HEART of Jesus. In fact, in Galatians 5:22-23, Paul calls them “the fruit of the Spirit.”
Gentleness is 5th on the list which refers to grace, & Meekness is 8th on the list which refers to new birth, new creation, or new beginning.
Paul utilized these (2) Fruits of the Spirit (among other spiritual weapons) to conquer HARDNESS & ARROGANCE.
29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
What the world considers WEAK i.e. gentleness & meekness, God considers STRONG & MIGHTY even “to the pulling down of strongholds.”
Our thoughts, if we allow them, can & will INCARCERATE us & keep us from God’s BEST i.e. freedom from sin.
As we make our way through this passage, are there some THOUGHTS in your life that have taken your hostage rather than you taking them hostage?
I.E. hate, bitterness, pride, haughtiness, self-reliance & dependance, jealousy, envy, lust, addictions of various sorts etc.
We need to learn from the WORD, how to destroy what BINDS US & seeks to DESTROY US.
Let’s talk about what is means “THOUGHT ARREST!”
Read & Pray.
Alright, before we give you (2) truths that will help you ARREST EVERY THOUGHT, know this; according to verses 3 & 4, we are in a BATTLE FOR THE MIND.
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
This is not a PHYSICAL battle, but a SPIRITUAL battle. This is why yielding & submitting to the Word of God & the God the Word is so vitally important.
The RENEWING of our mind, having the MIND OF CHRIST, is essential if we desire to be OVERCOMERS when it comes to our THOUGHT LIFE.
7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:
Eat and drink, saith he to thee;
But his heart is not with thee.
There are some things that need to be -
1. TORE DOWN
1. TORE DOWN
2 Corinthians 10:5 “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God...”
Paul mentions namely (2) WALLS or FORTRESSES that we must constantly TEAR DOWN.
A. OUR THOUGHT LIVES
A. OUR THOUGHT LIVES
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
What are imaginations? Imaginations are false reasonings, thoughts that don’t lie up with the Word of God.
B. OUR HAUGHT LIVES
B. OUR HAUGHT LIVES
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
What are high things? High Things are anything that has been raised up especially lifted up against the Lord & His Word of Truth.
3 For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
There are somethings that not only need to be tore down, but there are some things that need to be constantly -
2. TAKEN HOSTAGE
2. TAKEN HOSTAGE
5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
What does CAPTIVITY mean? It means to incarcerate, to get control of, to take hostage.
What are we to take hostage? “every thought...”
Listen, if your thoughts don’t LINE UP with the Gospel of Jesus Christ or the truth as revealed in the Word of God, then you must, with the help of the POWER of God, take hostage that thought & wield the authority of Christ to arrest, jail it, & replace it with the Truth of the Scripture.
You’ve heard people say that “half the battle is in the mind”, I personally believe it’s more than half, but it’s true Satan will seek to plant his corrupted seed in your thought life IF you will allow him.
We must not allow him, but rather SUBMIT to God, RESIST the Devil, & put him on his way. Amen.