Freedom in Christ - Part 5
The Mind is the Battle Ground

Isaiah 55:9
for just as the sky is higher than the earth,
so my deeds are superior to your deeds
and my plans superior to your plans.

Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding.
Acknowledge him in all your ways,
and he will make your paths straight.
We can choose to live Gods way by faith, or our own way.

Gods' way is beyond our own thinking.

Gods' way is right - the more we commit to His way - the stronger our spiritual maturity will be.

Although we have a new life in Christ - we are bringing in old thoughts and ways.

The world is dominated by plan B thinking - and we are being contaminated by advertising, the media, etc.

Satan is out to destroy us.

A feeling of helplessness is teaching us to get on plan A.

Plan B - thoughts become strongholds.

Environment

We were born spiritually dead. All we learned in early life we assimilated from our environment, schools, family etc.

Particularly bad experiences can become strongholds. Traumatic experiences are burned into our minds and will keep us from walking in plan A.

Temptation

We are tempted to look for our needs in the world. Satan will help us on the wrong path, without necessarily being a bad or good decision. We must wait for God.

•  We must not entertain the wrong thoughts or dwell on them.
•  We need to control the initial thought or we will landslide.
•  We have to learn to take the first thought captive (thresh hold thinking).
•  If we don't take the first thought, it will capture us.
•  The reality is - we don't do anything without thinking about it first.
•  Satan may pass us the thought, but we are the ones who obey them.

As we learn to take thoughts captive and give them to God our character will change.

We have the responsibility to stop these bad thoughts going further.

Gods way out of temptation is:

•  To take the first thought captive and say NO, or move away from the area.
•  Go do something else.

Strongholds

Entertaining wrong thoughts for 6 weeks - become habits/strongholds.

Some strongholds

•  Inferiority
•  Hostility
•  Homosexuality
•  Anorexia
•  Bulmenia

Strongholds are mental habit patterns.

Emotions follow thoughts.

Philippians 4:8
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things.

Satan puts his thoughts into our minds and deceives us into thinking they're ours!

1 Chronicles 21:1-7
Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, "Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are."
But Joab replied, "May the LORD multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord's subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?"
The king's word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem. Joab reported the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel there were one million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah.
But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king's command was repulsive to him. This command was also evil in the sight of God; so he punished Israel.

Satan disguises his thoughts as ours, if we believe them, then he has some control of our lives.

Scripture quoted by permission. NET Bible® copyright © 1996-005 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. www.bible.org . All rights reserved.