Monday, May 17, 2010

Battlefield of the Mind - Discerning Thoughts



The Lord is leading me into a focus on the battlefield of the mind-- the final frontier...
In 2Corinthians 10:3 we read, "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh." 

If more people could pin the tail on the real donkey and understand why Jesus exclaimed "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do"... mankind is under the prince and power of the air's influence.  As seekers of God, it is important to seek the difference in that man can activate thoughts by God or the enemy into the flesh.  One brings forth the Kingdom of God, and one aligns with the accuser of the brethren.

Let me back this up though because my heart is to exhort and teach believers, but why not include even a person that is in denial about God?  A person that says... "I looked for God but He never showed up"?  Wow, that's the best and most noticeable situation to be in... IF you are sincerely looking for answers.   The devil doesn't want you to make a decision for Jesus... perhaps all the other times you looked, the devil cleverly talked you out of how God was answering your prayers or speaking to you.  Now is the time to Pay Attention to your thought life.

After I went through a generational deliverance session... I was amazed how quiet my noggin was!  I used to have tons of thoughts always racing through my mind... always judging others... constant daydreams playing our scenarios of 'what to do next' or 'what should I have done' in past situations.  I hadn't realized how scatterbrained I had been... how much overtime my mind was doing, processing so many things at once.

Some time after I renounced all the sins that granted all that extra chatter in my head via the sins of my forefathers...  I was viewing an online exhibition of Tibetan artwork.  I was viewing the most horrid multi-armed, fang-faced, knife-wielding, blood-thirsty statue and I heard.... "Oh, it's beautiful" in my head.  HELLO... not my thought... no way.... no how! 

I encourage you to get scientific in your pursuit about discerning your thought life.  Even those of you that have received Jesus as Lord and Savior...   do what the scripture says about holding everything captive.  (2Corinthians 10:5-6 “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; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”)  Go through one day with a hand-held recorder and speak these random thoughts & then by the end of the day you'll be able to identify what you know was You... vs. what was maybe a lightening bolt kind of thought that popped into your head and you are unsure.  Then consider the thought. If you have premonitions about things... know that the enemy could be sending those as well... that is a grey area the enemy likes to use as counterfeiting the prophetic in Yeshua.  I want to bring that up so you don't end up as operating as a psychic.  If you are seeking a relationship with Jesus above all else, He will keep you.... if you seek after hidden knowledge apart from Jesus and not inquiring with Him... you've got an open door for receiving information from familiar spirits, i.e. demons.

Obvious thoughts..... you will find blatant judgmental thoughts, crude thoughts, perverse ones....(Mark 7:22, Romans 1:29)  These thoughts oppose God... these are not you... these are the dead-ringers, the give-a-ways to the enemies devises.  You can agree with these thoughts and make them your own.  You can come into agreement with these thoughts and if a sin is welcome in your spirit...you'll always think it's you.  Ever agreed that you're ugly?  This is not from you... God says 'you were fearfully and wonderfully made' (Psalm 139:14) --and guess what, He's not a liar. 

If a thought has birthed an action into sin by you and you find you have no conscience that it is contrary to God... it's because you have embraced it.  If you have embraced it but feel bad about it from time to time... consider the Holy Spirit is trying to drag you out of that pit you've dug for yourself.  The enemy does not like to be exposed... if you do not feel complete freedom in this supposed sin, if you have shame... look up, Jesus loves you, and you can be free.  If you can begin to say (Rom 7:15 ) "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do"....and then monitor yourself, you'll begin to see the war that is going on in your mind.

One of the biggest mind-trips the enemy does is in getting you to birth sin from that initial thought.  Then, condemns you into thinking there is no forgiveness, no escape from that pit.  And this is where overcomers shine...  when that condemning thought enters your mind, when that sinful thought enters in.... an overcomer is one that recognizes the source, takes it captive saying "devil, I know it's you!" --- believing the word of God you speak, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." -- or scripture of your choice.   Binding that thought, command it to the pit, or the footstool of Jesus, and speak the opposite of what the devil was pushing in that thought from the word of God.... using that sharp sword.  Example:  The devil says "You remember last week you were so rotten... you screwed up so many times... you don't learn from your mistakes... you're just a hypocrite...", and on and on.  RIGHT THERE is the doorway... what are you going to do with that thought?  Well let me tell you... you recall the scriptures and target it just like Jesus used the Word of God against satan in the desert.  You say, "excuse me devil... if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for my sins" (1John 2:1-2).   If you get attacked with a sexual thought.... "no devil, my body is a temple of the Holy Spirit."  Are you seeing how to take captive and combat?  The Word of God is our foundation... you seek it, you read it, you implement it and it builds every part of the  armor of God (Eph 6:11).

So I've kind of transitioned over to discerning thoughts for the believer in Jesus, but I want to say, there are many christians out there that receive Jesus but do not understand the importance of paying attention to our thought life.  They think receiving Jesus is enough and allow these terrible thoughts to manifest as terrible sins against fellow brothers and sisters in the Lord. 

The biggest warning I have is that the devil will put in your mind a spirit of self-justification.  This is a 'religious spirit'.  Remember keep your friends close, but your enemies closer?  Well a religious spirit is one that twists the Word of God... like Eve dealt with in the Garden.  The base of it is spiritual... the enemy latches on to your bad self and gets you to justify the sin.  Gossip goes unheeded on our radars because... 'oh, that person is sinning-- it's okay to EXpose sin'.  Backbiting goes unheeded BEcause... 'they didn't return my book, therefore they aren't a person of their word'.  Attack of character based on doctrinal belief differences.... 'because after all, if you don't believe what I do, you must be a damned sinner because I know God talks to me, so you must be listening to the devil...'  This is the most dangerous stuff to entertain because christians open up their hearts to other christians and the wounds can be so deep as believers attack other believers.... the devil's favorite weapon of choice.... the same spirit that killed Jesus.

[prayer]

If you have a negative thought of a brother or sister in the Lord... if during this teaching your head has been a bed of mumbles railing against me... just stop & see it for what it is.  Stop and pray for that person... you are having those thoughts because the enemy wants to use you as a weapon.  The devil doesn't want you to free... doesn't want you to be an overcomer... c'mon and prove him eternally wrong!


Need some 'fighting scripture' to secure who you are in Christ Jesus? Good link:
http://www.mystiktruth.com/p/i-am-in-jesus.html
www.hearingGod.tv 

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