The Battle
Corinthians • Sermon • Submitted
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I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!—
I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh.
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
But, thoughts are also something more sinister. They are batteground in the spiritual war.
We have 2 worldviews vieing to control us and shape our thoughts
a. One hand we have the Biblical worldview
based on God’s word
Shaped by God’s will
We walk in a Biblical worldview when we seek to to think as God would think. When His word informs our sense of right and wrong.
b. Secular Worldview
Shaped by the world
It is based on what feels right and popular opinion
It is often directly at odds with God’s word.
I. The Power of Thought
I. The Power of Thought
The ability to think is
(1) man’s great distinction
This seperates us from animals
Animals act on instinct to survive
Eat, drink, sleep, reproduce
They don’t build cities and do art
They don’t harness nature to change their surrounding (AC and Heat)
We are distinct and uniquely made on planet Earth
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
(2) the instrument of all his work
We use our minds to direct and guide our work
Look around you.
Behold our work
We think, plan, design, create
We follow through on those plans and build.
The New King James Version Chapter 23
7For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.
“Eat and drink!” he says to you,
But his heart is not with you.
8The morsel you have eaten, you will vomit up,
And waste your pleasant words.
II. We must lead our Thoughts
II. We must lead our Thoughts
Paul says to take them captive
We often have heard it called leading our thoughts
If a man does not lead his thoughts, some other power will, some power of the world, of the flesh, or of the devil, or all these powers combined.
Now the central character of the power of our thoughts makes it a first necessity that we should lead them, if we are to remain in possession of ourselves.
Thought determines the man.
It arrests the attention
, awakens feeling,
inflames the passions,
subdues the will,
commands action.
Thoughts, therefore, unled, will be to a man what winds and waves are to a ship under canvas, but without a rudder, or what steam is to an engine without the guiding rail: a driving and destructive power.
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind.
This is why our battle is in our mind
For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.
We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,
being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.
We must lead our thoughts to tear down
arguments and lofty opionions against God.
That is the secular worldview
AT conlict: God says something is a sin
World says it isn’t
The battle begins!
their arguments and lofty opinions sound good to our ears and flesh. It is easier to go along with them in order to get along
Many times they dress it up as
We must love them (thus never confront sin)
Don’t judge (but we aren’t condemning any actions, GOD DOES!
As a child of GOD, the only righteous choice is letting the Bible shape our thoughts
We must wrestle with these chioces everyday, but in the end, the Word of God declares what is true and false and our feelings have very little to do with it.
In fact our feelings will often be wrong!
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?
If your feelings contradict God’s word, it is your deceitful heart that is wrong!
III. Be ready to punish disobedience.
III. Be ready to punish disobedience.
When thoughs leading to disobedience arise, we must punish them.
Cast them out and replace them with right thoughts!
There must be a total destruction and removal of the fortresses of human and Satanic wisdom which lead us into sin.
Those lies which enslave us must be completly rejected!
Satan, and his worldview are our enemy
He delights in capturing us and enslaving us to our sin
We live in a day where many churches are drifting and/or outright running away from God’s word
They make excuses and reinterpret
They ignore and outright call some veres error
What they have rejected is God!
Don’t settle for Satan’s lies.
IV. How to lead our thoughts
IV. How to lead our thoughts
To lead our thoughts we must present to the mind that which is agreeable to its nature, and simply ask for obedience to an authority which, though it speaks without, appeals to its own Amen within us.
The authority is
(1) conscience
Some things tend to be wired into our species
We see wrong and recognize it
Yet if not careful, we our conscience can become seared.
We can train ourselves to ignore it and accept sin as ok. and even celebrate it
Follow your conscience
Far more importantly....
(2) the Divine word
You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.
STOP altering the word
don’t add to nor take away
Keep it!
obey His commandments
When God says DO THIS..... DO IT!
When God says DO NOT.... DON”T
This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.
If we meditate on the word, it will inform our conscience!
Instead of with it.... SUBMIT to it
no matter how you feel about it
No matter what society and entertainment has said
He created us, and when He declares what is right and wrong, we have to obey or be in sin and rebellion.
The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple.
Your righteousness is righteous forever, and your law is true.
The sum of your word is truth, and every one of your righteous rules endures forever.
(3) He who speaks in the word.
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
God the Spirit helps us understand and apply God’s word
We cannot win this battle for our minds without Him!
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
He will never lead us to break the word!
He gave the word and illuminates the word!
If a spirit is leading you to think the BIble is wrong about anything… that is not the Holy SPirit! It is Satanic and seeking your harm!
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
We are in a war for our minds
Never surrender and take your thoughts captive to obedience to Christ!