Latest / Clifford Baptist / "Battle of the Mind" 2 Corinthians 10:1-6

Transcript

"Battle of the Mind" 2 Corinthians 10:1-6 · Clifford Baptist

• 0:00
  Speaker A: Welcome to Truth for the Journey from Clifford Baptist Church, 635 Fletcher's Level Road in Amherst. Tonight, Pastor Jeffrey Campbell will continue with the new study series Battleground. Tonight's scripture is Second Corinthians, chapter 10, verses 1 through 6. And the sermon is entitled the Battle of the Mind.
• 0:16
  Speaker B: As we gather together tonight, I'm thankful that we open God's word together. Take your bibles, go to second Corinthians, chapter number 10. Second Corinthians, chapter number 10 tonight as we continue on. And this Battleground series, one of the most intense battles that you can possibly face. It is one that often goes unseen. And it is the battle of the mind. A battle of the mind. And so when we think about that, I want to give you a little heads up before I jump into this. I have the blessing of having Cole McConnell come and shadow Nathan and I a couple days a week for a few hours, trying to show him the ropes of ministry and what it looks like. And so yesterday as Cole came, I just said, do you want to see how my brain works when it comes to God's Word and putting together a message? And he said, yeah, let's do it. So he was privileged to sit right beside me and help with this lesson. So, Cole, you have the right to preach this message, okay? Because you helped. You can go preach this message wherever you want to. We talk about the battle of the mind. I'm thankful that God has allows us to do that, but one that we can face. Battle of the mind. And I'm not going to ask you to raise your hand. I'm not going to ask you to nod your head. I'm just going to ask you to think about it. Have you ever battled those thoughts that creep into your head? Have you had a spiritual battle, A battle of the mind? Maybe it looks like something that we would label doubt or unbelief. Maybe you've thought before, Are my prayers really being answered? Am I the only one that's ever thought that? I don't think so. Right. But that's a spiritual battle, right? That's a battle of the mind. When that doubt or unbelief begins to creep in, when you have questions about God's love, when you have questions about God's direction, when you have questions about God's word. What about the battle for anxiety, dealing with worry? God, are you really going to take care of this? Right. I don't see you working. Are you really going to take care of this? That could be something that we label as a Spiritual battle or a battle of the mind. But it also extends into things like temptations of lust, the battle with pride, anger, bitterness, identity issues. There are a lot of battles that rage in. In the minds of people. And so with that said, I want to say this. The greatest battle of the mind, and I'll get to it at the very end of this lesson tonight, is this is the battle where Satan just darkens the mind of those where they cannot see the light of Jesus. That's the greatest spiritual battle. And it seems like Satan is always winning. Maybe there are people in this room that, that are in the middle of a battle that is raging in their mind. And my prayer tonight is that we understand that the battle that rage, we all will fall into them sooner or later. But there is someone that can bring down those strongholds that build up in our minds. And his name is Jesus. Absolutely. Thank you. Thank you. So tonight, before I read, I want to pray. And in doing so, we're gonna go to Second Corinthians, chapter number 10. Let's pray. Father. Thank you for tonight, God. I pray, Lord, that your spirit will go before us. And Lord, as we break open your word, God, that you will teach us, Lord. Thank you, Lord, that Cole and myself sat down and talked through this passage and studied together and put things on paper. But God, I pray, Lord, the people in this room, Lord, and the people that will listen to this later on will simply hear your voice, your word, your instructions, Lord. So minister to our hearts tonight, minister to our minds tonight. We pray and we give you this prayer. We ask it in Jesus name. Amen. Really, there are three things that I want you to see in six verses tonight as we think about this battle for the mind. And as we read the first two verses, look at 2 Corinthians, chapter 10, verses 1 and 2. It says this. Now I, Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent and bold toward you. But I beseech you that I might not be bold when I present with that confidence wherewith I think to be bold against some which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. Now, I know that may seem like bunch of gibberish to you, but the first thing I want you to see is I want you to see Paul's battle. That's point number one is Paul's battle. The Corinthian church is one that Paul needed to address one big issue, and that was the issue of unity. Unity within the Church in Corinth. And he wrote in the first letter, First Corinthians, chapter number one, verse, verse number 10, that division needs to cease and unity needs to take place. That's a message that every church could benefit from. I don't care what the name of the church is, but Paul is addressing that division. And so, as we see that, Paul has to address the believers there, but he also has to address those who are false teachers, who are causing trouble, who are causing the division which within the church. And so as you read Second Corinthians, the second letter, you read the first nine chapters, okay, that's for the church. The last three chapters there are directly to those people that are labeled false teachers. And so as you read, we are beginning in chapter number 10, a direct message to those people who are misunderstood leading the church. Now, you see that Paul uses that word. Now, that is a turning point in this letter, that he is going to turn and address the issues that are facing this church. Now, here's the big. If I could sum it up in my. In Jeffrey's words, here's what's going on. These leaders are accusing Paul of being different in person than when he writes his letter. You're a big boy when you write that letter, but when you show up, you just. You're not very big. One commentator says it like this. Paul is barking loudly at a distance, and he gets quiet when he draws near. That's the accusation. Paul, you got a big bark when you got the pen in your hand. But when you come to us, we don't see that same boldness. And what does that do to Paul? What would that do to you? Be honest. Would it fire you up? Oh, yeah. You get fired up and you'd start typing that text message or that email, and you just have to hit the delete button. That's what I have to do. All right, I'm guilty. You gotta hit that. Just hit the delete button. Trust me, it works better that way. Paul Dutton hit the delete button. But as he faces these critics, they are accusing him of being two different, different people. And how does he address this claim? Look at verse number one. He says this. Now, I, Paul, myself, beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, there's only one way to address people that bring accusations against you, and that's the same way that Jesus would address it, with meekness and gentleness. And so we understand that Paul is responding with an attitude of gentleness coupled with patience, a little bit of leniency. Toward these that are upsetting the church there. But the critics saw him as a pushover. And when in fact, he was just showing them grace. He was trying to show these people grace. And at the end of the letter verse or at the end of what we'll study tonight, you'll see that he tells them, like, if you don't straighten up, I will take care of you. I will take care of you. So when we understand this, when we see this, the critics are at work. The false teachers are accusing Paul and they're accusing him about acting according to the flesh and being a pushover. Is this a spiritual battle? How do you respond to people that make false accusations or false claims that gets you worked up? Well, he addresses it just like Jesus would, with meekness and gentleness. Now, what I want to bring out here in this point is this. The correct attitude matters with how you address things that are coming at you. You can't blow up like a bullfrog. You can't get mad as a hornet, and you can't just throw words that you wish you one day gonna wish you can take back. Look, I'm speaking from experience. And so as Paul is correcting them with the pen and he is addressing the realities of this, what do others think of me? Is that a mental battle for you? What others think of you? Now, some of you sitting here tonight, all that's. I don't care what. Be careful, be careful. We can sit there and say, I don't care what anybody thinks about me, but when somebody really tells you what they think about you, you're gonna get worked up. So you do care and it does matter. And so one of the biggest battles of our mind is working through this life and processing. Hey, people are not gonna like you. Why did I pick this subject? Because when I took over four years ago as your pastor, this was the biggest battle following a pastor that had been here 40 years. Listen, I knew I was not Mike Fitzgerald, but that's what people would expect. Here's what my mind is telling me, right? I had the dream that everybody left when Mike. When Mike left, I was preaching to nobody. I had that dream right there. I had to battle the mind game of, hey, do others? Are others really going to like me? And here's what I realized. And anybody that stood in the position of pastor will realize not everybody will like you. Here's what you need to realize as a Christian. Not everybody's going to like you. Not everybody is going to accept the message that Jesus loves them. You're going to be met with resistance. And you may even be disliked or hated for where you stand in your relationship with Jesus and how bold you are there. Are you willing to accept that? How do you handle mentally what others think about you? Here's the answer right here. The same way that Paul did, the same way that Jesus did, with meekness and gentleness. When we understand that it really doesn't matter what others think of us. I cannot please everybody. And that's one of the hardest parts about this job. Every decision that I make or you make is going to be criticized. Some will like it, some won't like it. But you've got to stand for the Lord. And that's what Paul was doing. He's writing back to a church that he loved, that he founded, but he's telling them this. You're off track. And you've got to address these false teachers that are there. Guess what? Not everybody's going to like that. Maybe tonight Paul's battle is your battle. Maybe that battle of the mind. You're so worked up with what others think about you that you can't do what God has called you to do. I'm going to, hey, approach it with meekness, but also you need to approach it with boldness. Let's go on. In this story, verses three and four. As Paul continues on, he says this. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. When we think of one of the greatest battles in all of scripture, you can go all the way back to Genesis chapter number six. Genesis chapter number six, verse number five. It says this, and God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth, that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. What did God do in chapter number six because of the thoughts of evil people? He wiped it. He brought the flood, right? And do we understand those evil faults? And the battle of the faults matter even before a holy God. But what's that stronghold look like for you? When we think about point number two, defeating strongholds, what does that stronghold look like in your life? Paul reminds us that we must walk in this world. And yet the war and the weapons that you need are not physical, are not carnal or not of the flesh. Now, excuse me real quick by using some of this terminology, but you just can't go pull a weapon and fix a spiritual problem. You cannot. And so what we understand here is though we are in the World. The battle is not of the world. It is a spiritual one. And it can't be won by fighting with the worldly weapons or the worldly way. And so Paul understands this decision as he comes to the church. They've judged him as someone who talks the game. But as you see, this church that Paul loves is being torn in two and divided. And so Paul says this, this battle, it can't be won in the physical realm. We must depend on the Lord. Though we are in the world, we can look to God to bring down strongholds in the life of the church in Corinth, but also in our own lives, especially when it comes to our mind. And so what are those strongholds in our mind? What do they look like? Well, let me start by saying this. So many strongholds are rooted in deception. Remember, as we've talked about the enemy and Satan, he is deceiving, so deception is one of his tactics. And so Satan uses that deceptive way to make you think or believe something is wrong, something's going on. Not only is Satan to blame, but sin is. And also I labeled it stuff beyond our control. There have been good people who have experienced bad or horrible family issues. There have been good people that have been subject to abuse, trauma. And some of these things leave strongholds in their lives. They affect them not only in a physical way, but mentally. And we've got to be careful not to just brush that off as, oh, you need to get over it. But what is really going on is, is that battle of deception. When we look at mental health, those issues are on the rise. Sin issues, when we think that we can't stop something, or God can't help me with this issue, or I'm too bad, those are all sin issues. What about the issue of busyness? You've got to do it all because you don't think that God can do his part. What about doubt, forgetting what God has said and done in the past? Idols thinking money can save you. All of these are spiritual strongholds that people build up in their life and they depend on. And it's not a godly way to deal with these issues. Listen to this verse, First John, chapter number two, verse number 16 says this. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father, but is of the world. And so when we understand these worldly issues have built up walls in our minds, they have deceived us, trying to make us believe and forget that God can deliver so how do you war against this? Or how do you fight against these thoughts? The end of verse number four. Everybody look there. I want to make sure that you see this together. The end of verse number four says this, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. There's one person that can pull down the strongholds in your life, and that's the Lord Jesus. That's God Almighty. He is the one that can bring those strongholds down. And so when we understand that this warfare happens as Satan launches a campaign trying to destroy you, and it seems like you're just trying to survive. I love Romans, chapter 8. Romans, chapter 8, verse 31 reminds us that if God is for us, who can be against us? Romans 8, 37 reminds us that in all things that we are more than conquerors. Through him that loved us, through Jesus. Jesus is the answer to what can bring down the strongholds in your life. But here's the reality. Here's what you need to realize. You cannot conquer Satan without the Lord's help. You can't do it on your own, in your own mind, on your own strength. You cannot gain victory without the Lord who will bring down those strongholds. And so we fight with spiritual weapons. What do those spiritual weapons look like? Well, guess what? You're going to get the church answer. Okay? Prayer. And when I talk about prayer, I talk about surrendering the stronghold, recognizing. Acknowledging it before a holy God. This is where I am weak. This is where I need your help. Lord, I call on your strength to help me defeat and bring down that stronghold. You've got to bring that before the Lord, surrender it before the Lord in prayer. But also Scripture, relying on the Holy Spirit, the armor of God, your faith, accountability and fellowship with other believers, all of these things are important. So, Paul, it's a stronghold is in the church as false teachers. And they don't recognize. They just say, oh, Paul, you're not doing anything. You're not physically coming against us. But what was Paul doing? What do you think Paul was doing for this church in Corinth? Do you think he just wrote a letter and say, y' all fix it yourself? No, here's what I can do. I guarantee you Paul was praying for that church in Corinth. And what the people, the false teachers, couldn't see is Paul was fighting a spiritual battle, but he was fully dependent on the Lord to go before and fight that battle. So where they saw him as a weak man. No, no. He was meek and he was gentle, and he was depending on the Lord. So tonight those strongholds can be defeated. And I remind you that Jericho's wall was brought down in a very unconventional way. Right? They didn't go get the cannons and line them up and fire them all at the same time. No, no, no, no. God's plan was this. Let's just march around it. And that wall, that stronghold around Jericho came crashing down because they followed God's plan tonight. What's built up, what stronghold is built up that you need the Lord to help you bring down? Let God fight the battle. I wrote this from Psalm, excuse me, from Proverbs 23, verse number seven. For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he. Strongholds tend to grip our mind, cloud our thinking, allow us to make crazy, stupid choices. And here's what you need to realize. Not every thought, not everything that comes into your mind through your mind is of God. Not everything. And so as those strongholds are being built in your mind, you got to realize God can bring them down. There's one more point tonight. That point comes from verses 5 and 6, mainly verse number 5. Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God. Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, and having in readiness to revenge all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. Point number three is that we need to take every thought captive. Paul lists three things. The King James calls it imaginations in verse number five. Casting down imaginations, every high thing that exalted itself, and then bringing into captivity every thought. So imaginations and every high things and every thought, what does that really mean? Well, here's what it means. You're reasoning. Has your kid ever tried to reason with you on something that was really crazy and out of this world to make you try to convince you that it was. It was good and right and that they should do it? Oh, I'm the only one that has teenagers here, right? And so as we look at that, the reasoning, the arguments, the imaginations, sometimes there are things that come in our mind that we can work and reason with God and make something that is sinful and wrong seem like it is. Okay. Does that make sense? We're going to go through one of these in just a second. What about opinions? How highly do you hold your opinions? And just because you have an opinion on something, can I. I'm not gonna hurt your feeling. I'm trying to. I love you. Just cause you got an opinion don't mean that your opinion's right and it doesn't mean mine's. Right. Either. Right. But we can offer arguments or reasons, we can offer opinions. But Paul says this. Every thought, every thought needs to be brought to the obedience of Christ. We are called to guard our minds against untruths. So part of taking every thought captive is protecting what goes into your mind. Now listen to me, Church. Those simple things, such as conversations, such as music, such as some podcast or whatever you're listening to, if you let that stuff infiltrate your mind, some of that garbage can build up strongholds. It can influence your opinions, your reasoning. And so what happens is Satan begins to use these things that are going through our minds to build a stronghold and to convince you something totally against God's word. So we need to protect our minds, guard them against untruths. And we are to cast things down and to bring every thought into captivity. And so we're called to evaluate every thought against the truths of Scripture. This literally means take every thought captive. I don't know when the last time you've trapped something, right? But that's what you're doing with your thoughts. You're taking them captive. You're trying to figure out, is this real, is this true according to God's word, and should it then pass on through this mind of mine? What does that example look like? Well, I just made up something on the fly. Not really. Have you ever had somebody say to you, I've done too much bad to be saved? Has anybody ever heard somebody say that I've done too much wrong, I'm not good enough for God to save me? How do you take that thought? So this person will never come to Jesus because that thought is here. That stronghold has been built in, in their mind, Their opinion, their belief is based on what is in their mind. I'm not good enough. How do you work that? Can I give you what I would do? I don't know that it's right. Okay. But this is how I have addressed it in the past. I take God's word in a very simple way. The Romans road will simply show them that number one in Romans 3:23, that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, you begin to share God's truth with them. Everybody has sinned and come short of that glory. And when we understand Romans 3:23, here's the reality that every single one of us are sinners. There's none good. No, not one. That's what the Bible says. So when you say, look, I'm not good enough, you are exactly right. But here's the Other half of it, none of us are good enough. Go to Romans 6, 23, which says, the wages of sin is death. But there's a gift of God, of eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord. That's a good verse. Because what that verse tells us, that everybody deserves separation from God, deserves an eternal death, but there's a gift that God gives through His Son, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:8. That God commended his love toward us, that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Yeah, you're not good enough. I'm not good enough. But even because we are sinners, Jesus Christ went to a cross and died for us. That's what love is when you are undeserving. No, you don't deserve it. I don't deserve it. Jesus went to the cross for your sin. Romans 10. When you think of these, or you hear These words, verses 9 and 10, listen to these words. It says this. If you shall confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart that God had raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart, man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth, confession is made unto salvation. Verse number 13. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. Very simple. You take God's word and you show them. Here's the truth. None of us deserve it. We can't earn it. We can't do it on our own. Jesus Christ paid that debt, gave us a gift through his Son, Jesus, that anybody can have if they would just believe. Can I tell you something, Church? A lot of people need to hear that simple message. Because in their minds and in their hearts, they've come to the conclusion. They come to the thought, the stronghold is there. I'm not good enough. The Bible says, no, you aren't, but Jesus is. Jesus Death was good enough to pay that debt of sin that you owe. As I mentioned earlier, there are a few scriptures that I really want to share right now with you all. And you can write these down if you so choose, that you can go and study about your mind and how to protect it. And when we think about taking every thought captive. Romans 12:2. Write that verse down. Be not conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Philippians 4, 8. This would probably be my key verse when we're talking about taking every thought captive. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure. Whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report. If there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 2nd Timothy 1:7. God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. But there's one warning as I close tonight, and that warning comes from second Corinthians, a few chapters earlier. Second Corinthians, chapter number four. Listen to this. What the spiritual battle of the mind looks like, and this is the greatest one. 2 Corinthians 4, verses 3 and 4. Here's what God's word says. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. Listen to this verse number four. Whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. The greatest stronghold in the mind is a work of Satan. Satan has blocked the light of the gospel in people's minds and their hearts that it cannot get there. That's what this is teaching us. The God of this world is Satan himself, and he has blinded the minds of them which believe not. But there is a light that can bring down that stronghold, and that light is Jesus Christ. And so tonight, when we think about taking every thought captive, it's important to protect your mind of what goes in. Important to replace the lies that are there with the truth of God's word. And here's what I want to tell you. Just repeat it over and over and over and over. You've got to think on these things, the good things, the godly things that come from the Word of God. So when those thoughts come in, take them captive, get rid of them, replace them with the truth of God, and then put that truth of God in your mind over and over and over again. Prayer allows you to bring those thoughts also before the Lord. And so I would challenge you in your prayer life and your prayer walk to pray on these things. So tonight, what walls need to come down? I'm not talking about you looking at somebody else or, you know, somebody else's. I'm talking about you. I'm talking about your life, your family, your situation. Maybe somebody's got a wayward child in here. That's a stronghold. God can defeat that. Maybe tonight there are thoughts that are creeping through your head. Doubts, worries, anxieties, anger. Those issues, put them before the Lord in prayer, take his word and replace those thoughts with the word of God, with the truth of the Word. And so tonight I think it's time to pray, and I want to lead us in that. But tonight, in a little bit, we're going to pray a little bit about those strongholds that need to come down. I pray that this lesson has been a blessing to you. It's opened my eyes to a few things in my own life. Let's go before the Lord. Father, thank you for meeting us here. Lord, tonight, as we think about Paul's battle, Lord, maybe in this room tonight there's somebody that's facing the battle of what others think of them and that drives them to think and to do things that they normally wouldn't do, they shouldn't do. Oh, God, I pray, Lord, that you will just bring into their mind and in their heart the truth, Lord, that you can use every person that is here, Lord, and that you created every person just the way they are, God, that. That your truth will be evident in these situations, Lord. Lord, tonight I thank you, Lord, that as we look at your word, we can be reminded that we can defeat the strongholds. And when I say that, Lord, we can't do it on our own. We can't do it without you. And so tonight, Lord, in this room there are strongholds that, Lord, you need to give wisdom and strength and direction, God. I pray, Lord, as we put those strongholds before you, God, that you will be at work in those situations, Lord. And we trust you to do so, Lord, tonight, teach us to take those thoughts captive, Lord, to replace them with the truth of your word. To remember that your truth is what leads our lives as believers. And, Lord, I pray that your word will be that binding agent, Lord, that replaces those lies from Satan, God, I want to pray for the mind that is delusion tonight, Lord, that is misled, that is blinded to the light of the gospel, Lord, that mind may be in this room. It may be a family member of somebody in this room. It may be somebody in our church family, in our community. God, I pray, Lord, that you will go before and your light will shine in those dark places, Lord. Only you, only you can open the minds of those that are unbelievers. So, God, I pray that you will go before and you will do that work, Lord. Bring down the stronghold of unbelief in people's lives, Lord, we trust you to do these things tonight. And we look to you now, Lord, to continue to lead us. We love you. In Jesus name, Amen.
• 37:25
  Speaker A: You've been listening to Truth for the Journey from Clifford Baptist Church. You're always welcome to visit Clifford Baptist Church for Sunday School at 9:45, worship at 11am and Wednesday, Wednesday evening, worship at 7pM Join us again for truth for the Journey.