Enemies of the Mind – Part 7

We have been looking at ways and strategies the devil employs to try to get us off track in our devotion to the Lord and our assignment during the rest of our lives here on Earth. Since we are in the flesh, that is, prone to sinning since we are imperfect, Satan takes advantage of that and lures us using our emotions and passions in several different ways which I have explained to you throughout this course.

Keep in mind that God’s desire is for us to grow and develop spiritually that we may know how to please Him:

Col 1:9-14

(9) And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

(10) so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

(11) May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy,

(12) giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

(13) He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

(14) in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (All Scriptures quoted from the ESV unless otherwise noted)

This passage sums up the daily training we ought to undergo and the daily mental attitude we need to maintain as overcomers in Jesus. There are some crucial things to understand from this passage:

1- What our spiritual training involves:

a. Being filled with the knowledge of His will

i. In order to know the will of God we need to deny ourselves of our own will and passions and fill ourselves with God’s Word. (John 8:31-32)

b. Pursuing spiritual wisdom and understanding

i. Hebrews 5:14; Col 3:2-3 & 1Peter 1:13-16 spell out the process by which we fill ourselves with spiritual wisdom and understanding.

c. Walking in a manner that is worthy of the Lord

i. Walking by faith and not by sight (2Co 5:7); Walking not in the counsel of the wicked (Psalm 1:1); not focusing on the things of the world (Col 3:2-3).

d. Fully pleasing the Lord

i. By doing only His will – Rom 12:2; By dying to self – Gal 2:20; By training ourselves to distinguish good and evil (Hebrews 5:13-14)

e. Bearing fruit in every good work

i. To bear fruit we must be the good soil, devoid of superficiality, stumbling rocks and prickling thorns of lust for the world and desires for riches (Matthew 13:3-23).

f. Increasing in the knowledge of God

i. God is not satisfied with status quo; our growth must be increasing (2Peter 1:5-12).

2- The results of spiritual training are:

a. Being Strengthened with all power

b. Prepared for all endurance

c. Equipped with all patience

d. Well oiled with joy – This guards you against the enemies of the mind

3- Our qualification in this exercise:

a. Will have us giving thanks as our primary offering to the Lord

b. Comes from the Father Himself, not our own talents or abilities or self-worth

c. Has us sharing a glorious inheritance

d. Has delivered us from a domain of darkness. We are free!

e. Has transferred us into a Kingdom of love where there is redemption and forgiveness

If we keep these guidelines in our mind on a daily basis we will not allow our thoughts to be polluted by our own biased worldly thinking that comes from the passions and desires of the flesh. We need to keep our minds on the things above, not on these things from below which belong to a world that is passing in its present form.

Keeping our minds on the heavenly things keeps us spiritually proactive. When our minds are in the gutter of our own selfish fleshly thinking we cannot be spiritually proactive, that is, ready for spiritual battle and service in the name of the Lord Jesus, but rather emotionally reactive.

VIII – Pessimism (also cynicism, skepticism and sarcasm) – When you’re emotionally reactive to the world around you

This is the mode Satan desires for us to be in most of the time since it will keep you from being productive in the Spirit. This mental enemy presents itself in two different flavors: self-deprecation and self-adulation (when it is combined with pride). In this pessimistic “kickative” mood you will drone on about:

1- how bad things are for you or how bad or pitiful everyone else is

2- how little self-worth you have or how special or different you are

3- fearing the worst in any situation or assuming the worst is going to happen

4- poor decision making on your behalf or others or past choices you or others have made

5- how you or others are of little consequence / importance

6- how no one cares for you and you will distance yourself from people who love you.

The tragic thing about being in a pessimistic (cynical, sarcastic, skeptical) state of mind is that your thinking becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. This enemy of the mind represses you from any meaningful productivity and that void in your life reinforces this depressive mentality.

Even in the passage we examined at the beginning we can see how the Holy Spirit motivates us to strive for optimistic reality when He reminds us that we’ve been qualified, delivered, rescued, transferred, redeemed and forgiven. Satan uses the drudgery of this worldly life to try to upset this focus, but we need to remember we have overcome in Christ our Lord!

1John 5:4-5

(4) For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith.

(5) Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

1John 2:14-17

(14) I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one.

(15) Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

(16) For all that is in the world--the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions--is not from the Father but is from the world.

(17) And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

As you can see from this invitation to take courage (encouragement), we must keep our eyes on Jesus and on the things above. The things of the world are passing already but only the eternal things will be left standing.

Even though we all experience problems in our society, our personal and family life and in the church we cannot be dominated by negativism for this is Satan’s ploy to stop us in the tracks the Father has laid out for us.

The Christian perception of life is quite opposite to pessimism, sarcasm and cynicism promoted by the world and its denizens.

Life can be and is wonderful under the Son!

1- We can rejoice in our salvation and redemption!

Mat 5:11-12

(11) "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account.

(12) Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

How can persecution and rejoicing be used in the same train of thought? Because we are truly blessed (makarios: completely filled and overjoyed; extremely happy) in Jesus Christ!

2- Jesus set the path of optimism!

Heb 12:2-3

(2) looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

(3) Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

Again we see the words cross, shame and joy in the same sentence! Jesus set the example! If he had joy in such dire straights, how much more can we hope for when He took on our greatest obstacle that we may not have to stumble?

3- Focus on the things above!

Rom 8:13-18

(13) For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

(14) For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

(15) For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!"

(16) The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,

(17) and if children, then heirs--heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

(18) For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

This is the mindset of salvation, of those who know they have crossed over from death to life and are bearing the fruit of the Spirit (1John 3:14).

4- Rejoice!

Phi 4:4-9

(4) Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.

(5) Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;

(6) do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

(7) And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

(8) Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

(9) What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me--practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Rejoice – think and practice… This is how to guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus!