The Battle Begins in Your Mind
For the Win, Week Four
Your life will be the fruit of your thoughts.
Your mind is the real battlefield.
Change your thinking, change your life!
You cannot have a negative mind and live a positive life.
You cannot have a lustful mind and live a pure life.
You cannot have a prideful mind and live a humble life.
Your life will follow your thoughts. Your mind is the battlefield!
Last week, we mentioned that part of the armor of God is the “helmet of salvation.”
Today, we’re expanding on that.
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NIV
The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they
have divine power to demolish strongholds. 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.
In other words, the way Satan fights is in the mind, in the thought life. To understand
this and fight well, I want to expand on three big truths…
THREE BIG TRUTHS ABOUT THE BATTLEFIELD OF THE MIND…
1. Believing lies leads us into bondage.
John 8:44 Amplified
When he (Satan) speaks a falsehood, he speaks what is natural to him, for he is a liar
[himself] and the father of lies and of all that is false.
Satan is the author of lies and all of his forces are expert whisperers of lies.
This doesn’t mean that every sin we commit can be directly blamed on Satan. But it
ultimately means that all sin, directly or indirectly, traces its origin back to the lies
that Satan has sown into humanity, from the garden of Eden and onward.
And most of the time, when we sin, when we fail morally, it’s because we’ve believed
something false that came, directly or indirectly, from Satan’s influence.
Some of you are believing lies right now that have wreaked havoc on your life…
2. Discovering God’s truth sets us free.
John 8:31-32 NLT –
You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know
the truth, and the truth will set you free.
All of God’s truth is a powerful weapon in our hands. The gospel, itself, is something
hidden to the minds of unbelievers. But when we embrace the truth and grace of the
gospel, it changes everything.
We are set free when we know we’re truly loved.
We are set free when we understand the message of the cross.
We are set free when we tap into God’s power.
We are set free when we know our destination.
We are set free when we find our worth and identity in Christ alone.
God’s truth is the affirmation, the confirmation, the weapon we need.
3. Renewing our minds leads us into God’s good plan.
Romans 12:2 NLT
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a
new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will
for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Transformation from what we once were into the Christlike saints God intends for us
to be is a matter of renewing the way we think.
It’s a matter of replacing all the error and all the lies with the truth of the Gospel.
THREE WAYS TO START WINNING THE BATTLE IN YOUR MIND…
1. Look at the life of Jesus and follow his example.
When Satan whispered, “Isn’t it written?...” Jesus responded with, “Yes, and it is
written…” and knew the source and context of God’s Word.
It’s not just “what would Jesus do?,” because it’s often too late at the point of
decision. It’s “how would Jesus think?”
If you want to live the life God wants you to live, you have to think the kinds of
thoughts God thinks.
2. Fill your mind with better thoughts.
Philippians 4:8 Message
Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating
on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the
worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse.
3. Practice making better decisions.
And by “practice,” I mean, start making one better decision at a time. Make the next
right choice. Take the next right step.
What is that next right step for you today?
Trusting Jesus? Being baptized? Breaking off that unhealthy relationship? Backing
out of that unwise pathway?
