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INCONVENIENT TRUTH: WEAPONS OF
SELF AND MASS DESTRUCTION – PART 2
BY: David Graham
In an article written by Kenneth Wallace entitled: Where Thoughts Come From and What You Can Do With Them, he presents an interesting point by writing: “Who we are and who we become are dependent upon the thoughts we persistently think. Since they are so important and influential in the development - or stunting - of our lives it begs the question, "Where do our thoughts come from?
The fact that human beings are able to think raises some additional intriguing questions. To what degree is thinking under the control of the thinker? Is the act of thinking under the sole discretion of the one doing the thinking? Are thoughts the unique expression of the pure volition of the individual mind or are there other factors at play, as well?” – Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/432464.
There are two views from which all of man will determine his/her choice of living and dying, the biblical world view or the world view. It is clear the world view rejects Jesus Christ, God and the Bible. As we begin to look at our life from the perspective of thoughts, thinking, and the forces at work influencing them, I believe we all must understand that this is continually influencing all of man from both world views.
There is a battle going on in your mind. A Spiritual war is won (or lost) on the battlefield of your mind. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says, "For although we are walking in the flesh, we do not wage war in a fleshly way, for since the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ." (Holman Christian Standard Bible)
Read more: Battlefield of the Mind Bible Study Ideas | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/facts_5185592_battlefield-mind-bible-study-ideas.html#ixzz2NeGaVd4Z
In his article entitled The Bible and Your Thoughts, Dennis Hinks writes: “Our hearts (desires, emotions and thoughts) are not naturally good, due to the effects of sin on them. Temptation begins with evil thoughts in the heart. To overcome temptation, we must replace the evil thoughts and desires that trouble us with new thoughts and desires that are pleasing to God. (We trust in God's power to give us success in doing so.) He goes on to add this: The Bible uses the term "heart" to refer to all of a person's mental and moral activity. It is the source of all one's emotions, thoughts and desires. The Bible teaches us that what is in a person's heart (his desires, emotions and thoughts) will show itself in his actions and works. And since each person is born with sin in his heart, these actions and works are not naturally good.” Dennis Hinks © 1990; Bible translation © 1998 040902
Christians and non-Christians alike will at all times find themselves dealing with the sins that arise from within and the thoughts that provide avenues to temptation we all will struggle with and against. From within, from the depths of one's heart, comes evil thoughts, sexual immorality, stealing, murder, adultery, greed, deceit, lustful conduct, envy, slander, pride and folly. Mark 7:21-22
The word of God is living, and active. It is sharper than any double-edged sword, and can pierce deep enough to separate soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It exposes even the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight; everything is uncovered and exposed before his eyes. He is the one to whom we must give account. Hebrews 4:12-13 Having been saved, we now discover that the sin we once enjoyed we no longer enjoy. Even when we yield to the temptation to sin, it does not bring to us the enjoyment that it once did. Instead, we discover that there is a battle going on in our hearts: a battle between the ways of God (the desires that the Holy Spirit puts into our hearts) and our former way of life (the habits and desires we had before God changed us - often called the "flesh," the "sinful nature," or some similar term).
“These two ways of thinking (and living) cannot exist together peacefully: A mind controlled by the corrupt nature is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law - in fact it cannot do so. Those who are controlled by the corrupt nature cannot please God. You, however, are not controlled by the corrupt nature, but by the Spirit - if the Spirit of God lives in you. And anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. Romans 8:7-9 ~ Dennis Hinks © 1990 Bible translation © 040902
All who are true followers of Jesus Christ, though saved, will find we are dealing also with the evil spirit of Satan working in our minds to tempt, deceive, and destroy our right relationship with the Lord. Those who are unsaved serve their father Satan and all his devices to deceive and destroy. I believe there are many true followers of Jesus Christ who choose to open themselves to the devices of Satan by failing to read, study, and absorb the Word of God daily. The reasons for such a choice could very well be an act of denial of the sins we do not want to turn from or the desire to avoid God’s Holy Word revealing any and all sins that exist in us. Those who are unsaved choose to follow false teaching for the same reasons. There are two religions of this world that command one to moral living, Christianity and Islam; however, Islam is a false teaching. Those who are unsaved as well as many who are saved resist surrendering all to Jesus Christ because of the command of moral living. Any who would say they are not sinners or deny the power of the evil spirit of Satan in their mind should listen to Paul: “14 We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15 I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16 And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17 As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18 For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature.[c] For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature[d] a slave to the law of sin. ~ New International Version Bible
Jesus taught that evil desires and thoughts come from within fallen humans themselves.
Mk. 7:18-22 “And he [Jesus] said to them [his disciples], ‘Are you also without understanding? Do you not perceive that whatever comes from without and enters into the man cannot defile him because it does not enter into his heart, but into the stomach and is eliminated out of the body.’’ And he said, ‘What comes out of the man is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, envy, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. “
In speaking to Christians about their former lives as unbelievers, Paul says, Eph.2:1-3 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins which in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience. Among whom also we all lived then in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.” ~ Where do evil desires and thoughts that arise in a Christian’s mind and heart come from? - TI Copyright © 2001-2009 Titus Institute
I think we should now take a look at the evil desires and thoughts Jesus referred to in an open effort to examine our own lives and the impact this evil has upon others as well. The King James Version Dictionary speaks of evil as: (1) Evil is natural or moral. Natural evil is anything which produces pain, distress, loss or calamity, or which in any way disturbs the peace, impairs the happiness, or destroys the perfection of natural beings. Moral evil is any deviation of a moral agent from the rules of conduct prescribed to him by God, or by legitimate human authority; or it is any violation of the plain principles of justice and rectitude. There are also evils called civil, which affect injuriously the peace or prosperity of a city or state; and political evils, which injure a nation, in its public capacity. All wickedness, all crimes, all violations of law and right are moral evils. Diseases are natural evils, but they often proceed from moral evils. It is very easy to think of others as we read this; however, do we see any of this in our own lives? (2) Pride-Inordinate self-esteem; an unreasonable conceit of one's own superiority in talents, beauty, wealth, accomplishments, rank or elevation in office, which manifests itself in lofty airs, distance, reserve, and often in contempt of others. Pride goeth before destruction. Prov.16. Pride that dines on vanity, sups on contempt. Insolence; rude treatment of others; insolent exultation. It is very easy to think of others as we read this; however, do we see any of this in our lives?
(3) Adulteries - Violation of the marriage bed; a crime, or a civil injury, which introduces, or may introduce, into a family, a spurious offspring. In a scriptural sense, all manner of lewdness or unchastity, as in the seventh commandment. In scripture, idolatry, or apostasy from the true God. Jer. 3. It is very easy to think of others as we read this; however, do we see any of this in our lives? (4) Fornications - The incontinence or lewdness of unmarried persons, male or female; also, the criminal conversation of a married man with an unmarried woman. Incest. 1Cor. 5. Idolatry; a forsaking of the true God, and worshipping of idols. 2Chron. 21, Rev. 19. It is very easy to think of others as we read this; however, do we see any of this in our lives?
(5) Covetousness (covet) - To desire or wish for, with eagerness; to desire earnestly to obtain or possess; in a good sense. Covet earnestly the best gifts. 1 Corinthians 12. To desire inordinately; to desire that which it is unlawful to obtain or possess; in a bad sense. Very desirous; eager to obtain; in a good sense; as covetous of wisdom, virtue or learning. A strong or inordinate desire of obtaining and possessing some supposed good; usually in a bad sense, and applied to an inordinate desire of wealth or avarice. Out of the heart proceedeth covetousness. Mark 7. Mortify your members--and covetousness which is idolatry. Colossians 3. It is very easy to think of others when we see this; however, do we see any of this in our lives? (6) Wickedness - Departure from the rules of the divine law; evil disposition or practices; immorality; crime; sin; sinfulness; corrupt manners. Wickedness generally signifies evil practices. But wickedness expresses also the corrupt dispositions of the heart. Their inward part is very wickedness. Psalm 5. In heart ye work wickedness. Psalm 58. It is very easy to think of others when we see this; however, do we see any of this in our lives?
(7) Deceit - In a deceitful manner; fraudulently; with deceit; in a manner or with a view to deceive. Lying. The heart is deceitful above all things, who can know it. Jeremiah 17:9 In 2 Corinthians 4:1, 2 Paul said: (1) Therefore seeing that we have this ministry, as we have received mercy we faint not; (2) but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscious in the sight of God. Preachers, teachers, and anyone else who talks about Jesus Christ must remember that they stand in God’s presence---he hears every word. When you tell people about Christ, be careful not to distort the message to please your audience. Proclaim the truth of God’s Word. It is very easy to think of others when we see this; however, do we see any of this in our lives? (8) Lasciviousness - In the New Testament, "lasciviousness" is translated from the Greek word aselgeia, which means (according to Strong's Greek Lexicon), "unbridled lust, excess, wantonness, outrageousness, shamelessness, insolence." It is wanton behavior characterized by a total lack of concern about what others think. Lewd; debauchery or living in debauchery (extreme indulgence in sensuality; orgies; seduction from virtue or duty); wantonness (undisciplined, unruly, merciless, inhumane, malicious, extravagant, lustful, sensual); licentiousness; lecherous; provoking or exciting lust; given to lust or expressing lust; filthy immorality. It is very easy to think of others when we see this; however, do we see any of this in our lives? (9) Envy - Socrates said, “Envy is the daughter of pride, the author of murder and revenge, the begetter of secret sedition, the perpetual tormenter of virtue. Envy is the filthy slime of the soul; a venom, a poison, a quicksilver, which consumeth the flesh and drieth up the bones.” The dictionary defines this term as “a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another’s advantages, success, possessions, etc.” The Bible also agrees with this definition. Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man’s envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind. (Ecclesiastes 4:4 – ESV) What triggers envy? Immaturity: Joseph was envied by his brothers because Jacob showed favoritism to Joseph, (Genesis 37:3-4) Pride: Daniel was envied by his colleagues because they didn’t want to submit to Daniel’s authority, (Daniel 6:1-5) Leadership insecurity: David was envied by King Saul for this reason, (1 Samuel 18:6-9) Low self-esteem and inferiority: Leah was envied by Rachel. Rachel had lost her self-esteem and felt inferior to Leah because she was barren, (Genesis 30:1 Greed for fame and public approval: The Pharisees, Teachers of the Law, the Sadducees and scribes didn’t hate Jesus because they thought He is a blasphemer. But Jesus was much popular than them. This made them envy Jesus,
(Matthew 27:18 Uncontrolled desire for material gain: Lack of material and carnal fulfillment lead them to envy against each other. Frustration: Christians frustrate upon seeing the wicked prosper and envy them. (Psalm 73:3 ~ Copyright © 2013 The Virtual Preacher All Rights Reserved. It is very easy to think of others when we see this; however, do we see any of this in our lives? (10.) Blasphemy - An indignity offered to God by words or writing; reproachful, contemptuous or irreverent words uttered impiously against Jehovah. Blasphemy is an injury offered to God, by denying that which is due and belonging to him, or attributing to him that which is not agreeable to his nature. To speak of the Supreme Being in terms of impious irreverence; to revile or speak reproachfully of God, or the Holy Spirit. 1 Kings 21. Mark 3. He that shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven. Mark 3. It is very easy to think of others when we see this; however, do we see any of this in our lives? (11) Foolishness - Unwise; imprudent; acting without judgment or discretion in particular things. Void of understanding or sound judgment; weak in intellect; applied to general character. In scripture, wicked; sinful; acting without regard to the divine law and glory, or to one's own eternal happiness. The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness. 1Cor. 1. It is very easy to think of others when we see this; however, do we see any of this in our lives?
As has been revealed, the magnitude and scope of the “desires of the flesh” and Satan’s lies, deceit, and temptations focused upon our minds and thoughts are powerful weapons that can and are used for self-destruction and mass destruction. Satan does not put these desires in us. They are already there. Satan will tempt us to follow these desires through the world, but he cannot implant these desires in us. Paul tells us that our flesh wages war with the Holy Spirit that has come to live within us at salvation. “This I say then, walk by the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh and these are contrary to one another so that you cannot do the things that you would.” Gal. 5:16-21 Notice, the phrases “the lust of the flesh” and “flesh lusts against the Spirit.” “Lust” is a strong desire for that which is forbidden by God. Sin may be pleasurable for a while; however, its consequences can and do plague us long after the sin has been committed. For those who are Christian, we often fail to drive out sin from our lives. Most often we know what to do, but we just don’t follow through. This results is a gradual deterioration of our relationship with God.
For those who are unsaved, short of salvation there is no hope for them in dealing with and having victory over the “lusts of the flesh” and the temptations brought on by Satan in their minds. Those who are saved as well as the unsaved must not fail to know that Satan knows each and every weakness that we all have in our fleshly desires. Let me ask you this... if you could take inventory of the thoughts you've been thinking over the past week, what kind of thoughts were they? Who we are and who we become are dependent upon the thoughts we persistently think. In an article entitled: The Battlefield of Your Mind by Lisa Russell, eHow Contributor, she presents a point of view that Christians can use that is called Truth Encounter: Neil Anderson in :"The Bondage Breaker" states, "This is not a power encounter, this is a truth encounter. The Devil is the father of lies and his power is in the lie. However, the truth sets us free. If you expose the lie, you will break the power of it." What is the truth about you and your relationship to God?
In response to this question posed above, I believe there are many who say I know about Jesus Christ, God, and the bible and thus believe they are good people and will go to heaven. I say to you, all you have is head knowledge and this alone will get you cast eternally into the lake of fire. True salvation provides you the opportunity to know Jesus Christ personally. Without the personal knowledge and relationship with Jesus, no one will enter into heaven.
It is with the in filling of The Holy Spirit that helps us in many ways including convicting us of that which we should not think or do according to the word of God. It is our “heart” that God searches and knows of all mankind. Heart is used in Scripture as the most comprehensive term for the authentic person. It is the part of our being where we desire, deliberate, and decide. It has been described as “the place of conscious and decisive spiritual activity,” “the comprehensive term for a person as a whole; his feelings, desires, passions, thought, understanding and will,” and “the center of a person. The place to which God turns.” (J. Stowell, Fan The Flame, Moody, 1986, p. 13.) Copyright © 2013 The Virtual Preacher All Rights Reserved
“Jesus desires to live in more than just a part of our heart. He desires to fill our heart and our entire being. He desires to have His hands in our hands and His feet in our feet so that we will go and do what He desires. Jesus says, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides (lives and remains) in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Only what we do in Christ has eternal value. The revelation of being in Christ changes our concept of who we are. It is in Christ where His personality is united with our personality and we take on a new personality. We become a new person with a new attitude, new behaviors, new likes, and dislikes. We do not really know who we are until we see ourselves in Christ, because our life is hidden in Him. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:2-3) It is a good thing to take an honest look deep inside your own heart to see what changes need to be made for the sake of your relationship with God. We all must depend upon God to make the changes in our hearts that are necessary for us to be more like Him. We even need God to help us in evaluating our own hearts in the light of His word and by His Holy Spirit. The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? "I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve." (Jeremiah 17:9-10)” ~ Gary Robert Ballard
Seek God Ministries www.SeekGod.org
For those of us who are saved we should take care to protect our mind and thoughts when the desires of the flesh attempt to move between us and our relationship with God. We can do this by focusing our attention and thinking on the word of God. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8 New International Version (NIV) Finally to all who read this, (1) how convenient or inconvenient is the truth presented here to your life? (2 )Which of the 11 weapons of self-destruction are you or have you fallen prey to and at what cost personally and to others including your loved ones?
From a Daily Devotional For You Booklet from June of 2012 I wish to share the contents of a message entitled: “This is the day the Lord has made.” God determines the number of your days, but you determine how they are spent. The Psalmist said, “This is the day the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Yesterday is a cancelled check, tomorrow is a promissory note, today is all you’ve got. And you can begin your life over today. If you live by these words: “Today I will delete from my diary two days--yesterday and tomorrow. Yesterday was for learning; tomorrow will be a consequence of what I do today. Today I will face life with the conviction that this day will never return, that it may be the last opportunity I’ll have to contribute because there’s no guarantee I’ll see tomorrow. Today I will invest my most valuable resource, my time, into my most important possession, the life God has given me. Today I will resist doubt and pessimism and warm my world with a smile. I’ll maintain a strong faith, expect nothing but the best, take time to be happy, see every task as an opportunity to honor the Lord, and endeavor to leave His footprints on the hearts of those I meet.
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