OUR ENEMY HAS BEEN DECEIVING MANKIND FOR THOUSANDS OF YEAR. SO, BE BOLD – IN YOUR PRAYER LIFE!
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every though into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
Did you know you can “whip the devil” when he shows up in your life by doing what Jesus did when tempted—every time by saying, “IT IS WRITTEN?” Then go on to say what is written in the Word of God? Bring every thought into captivity of Christ! That means we need to make the devil’s thoughts bow to the infallible Word of Almighty God. We need to drive them out with the power of His Word! We need to pull them down with “Thus says the Lord!” Jesus has conquered Satan for you…and now He has given you His authority to demonstrate the devil’s defeat. In Luke 10:19 we read these powerful words, “I have given you authority—to overcome all the power of the enemy!” And in Mark 16:17 Jesus says, “In my name YOU shall cast out demons!” We have the power—we have the authority—Hallelujah!
The thought life is the battlefield. So guard your thoughts! Watch what you read—watch what you look at—watch what you let into your mind. Be careful who you listen to. Don’t let wrong thoughts linger there – See Romans 12:1, 2. How are we transformed? Be renewing our minds! And that means to live in the Word! Walk daily in the Word! Think God’s thoughts daily! RENEW YOUR MIND! Learn to think like God thinks about salvation, forgiveness, mercy, sickness, healing, deliverance, goodness—and all the other wonderful things in the Bible.
David was a man who said he was blessed. WHY? Read Psalm 1:1-3 and notice that it says his DELIGHT is in the law of the Lord! And on His law he MEDITATES—and meditates when?—day and night. It is the one who delights and meditates on the Word of God who can pull down strongholds and cast down imaginations. Now you know that God has given you the power to pull down strongholds—and what are you going to do with it. This is warfare—and the battle is raging. But we do have weapons. And they are mighty through God! He has given you His Word—the blood of Jesus—and the name of Jesus. If you dare to do your part—all heaven will come to your aid—and you will be victorious!
We have various giants in our lives and they take us away at times by their influence on our lives. Being a Christian a true believer requires disciplined living—following the Word of God. We have intellectual giants; philosophical giants; and material giants—none of which we can trust in. A giant is anything or anyone that refuses to give God His rightful place. It is what exalts itself against the knowledge of God. This includes people who are operating in the flesh rather than in the Spirit, circumstances that make it appear that God is not in control, and attitudes that put man before God. What giants do you face in your life? Do you find other people, circumstances, or things within in your own heart and mind coming between you and obeying God with your whole heart? Hebrews 12:1-2 gives us the ultimate answer for all the giants of life—“Look to Jesus the author and finisher of your faith…”
Don’t forget Lucifer himself was once in heaven pouring out praise to God. We have all seen many who have fallen. Jesus warned that the love of many would grow cold. Don’t think it can’t happen to you. Many well-meaning Christians have approached the field of battle with flippant attitudes and have suffered greatly for it. Satan is out to deceive us—to torment us—to destroy us. He wants to keep us from the truth—the Word of God. But what is Satan’s real strategy—how does he bring about all this turmoil? The attack starts in the mind—this is his primary means of beginning his destruction. And, a few Christians realize this important fact but so many do not. With Satan at the back door every day of our lives—we fight for our very spiritual lives. It usually always begins in the mind. The area of our thoughts is the main battleground. The warfare starts in the mind—but then if allowed; it will spread to other areas of our lives as well. Verse 5 speaks of “demolishing arguments and pretenses.” The KJV says, “Casting down imaginations.” The word we find translated imaginations or arguments, in the Greek, actually means “a reasoning or decision.” And this speaks of the way we so often are able to take the plain truth of God’s word and twist it and turn it in such a way that it’s no longer absolute—that our specific situation is so special or unique that we are not bound by the same rules as everyone else. We rationalize—and excuse—and “reason” the truth into exactly what we want to hear.
In the last days, the devil will be using the method of DECEIT to bring so many of us down. The battleground is always in the mind—thoughts are what Satan wants to slip in there. The Bible is full of examples of this happening to people. We must stay close to God so we know when we are being deceived. Take, for example, the story of the man named Simon—the sorcerer in Acts 8. And Simon wrongly offers Peters and John money for the gift of laying hands on people to receive the Holy Spirit. Peter immediately rebuked him and said, “Man, you’re full of bitterness and captive to sin.” Now think of what he’s saying here. Look at what Peter says was at the heart of this man’s problem—he was full of bitterness—and that bitterness made him a captive to sin. Bitterness blinded him to the truth of God’s ways. And in Acts 8:22 he says to Simon, “Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.” Do you see—Simon was motivated by a thought! And where did that thought come from? Satan! What Peter ways saying was this—“Satan has put a thought in your heart”—and you have accepted that thought as your own and acted on it. Now pray for God to forgive you for that THOUGHT!
Notice that he didn’t say thoughts—but thought—singular! Pray that God will forgive you for that ONE THOUGHT that leads you into wrong action. And it’s so often just one little thought—placed in our minds by old Satan himself—that will make us say and do things that are so destructive and hurtful to people and to the body of Christ. The enemy’s primary approach is to drop a THOUGHT into our minds. He wants us to accept it and then act upon it. And the danger is that once we do—that thought can become a stronghold. And let me tell you—Satan’s lying thoughts can really have a strong hold on people! Thoughts can hold you like a vise and keep you from the truth. One mighty lie from Satan can hold you in a place of sickness—suffering—of torment—of bitterness and unforgiveness. And it will last just as long as you permit it—as long as you accept it!
Many of you are held captive by a thought. And that thought brings fear. Some of those thoughts are: “you’re no good”—“You’ll never make it to heaven”—“Your children will die and go to hell”—“You’re going to have a wreck”—“You have cancer or a tumor”—“You’ll never get well”—“You’re of no use to God’s kingdom of His work at this church”—“You’ve messed up so much what’s the use of even trying.” The thoughts go on and on—the devil brings thousands of thoughts to our minds. These thoughts bring fear, and when they take root in our mind we begin to speak them—and what was once an accusing voice now becomes your voice saying—“I’m no good—I’ll never make it to heaven—I have cancer—I’ll never recover—I’m no good to the kingdom of God—“I’ll never make it”—and so on. And this is nothing more than a trick—a subtle but deadly trick of the enemy. So don’t fall into his trap. Just as Paul says in verses 4 and 5, we need to bring every thought into the captivity of Christ. We need to replace that lie with the truth of God’s Word! Paul was speaking this as he was undergoing a difficult trial personally. Paul’s credibility was called into question and he responds that he may seem weak, but he fights his battles using God’s mighty weapons—not man’s. He says, “I’m doing it Jesus’ way!—because these weapons are the only ones that will tear down the strongholds of the enemy. These are the only weapons that will ensure spiritual victory.”
You can change your destiny by remembering who you belong to, and the power of the Word of God; “IT IS WRITTEN! IT IS WRITTEN! IT IS WRITTEN!” It’s the devil who wants you to suffer. Faith is an action—when the enemy comes in with these thoughts, and tries to torment us or cause us to live and act contrary to the Word of God—we need to begin to fight with the same weapons Jesus used to defeat Satan. And that is to quote the Word of God, with faith and assurance. We can boldly stand up and say, “I rebuke you, you lying demon! In the name of Jesus Christ I cast you and your thoughts out of my mind! Go, in Jesus name!”
