EXPOSE | Lose the Mind, Lose the Battle
“The fact is, the reason we have so many ineffective Christians today is that they do not know how to fight the battle[field] of the mind.” – Rick Warren
EXPLORE | Out of Sight, Out of Mind
No doubt, the mind is a battlefield. A lot is won and lost there. Mostly lost, it seems.
Not to go all ‘Matrix’ on you, but there are both “seen and unseen” forces on our lives. This fact is quite clear from verses like Ephesians 6:12. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” The source of what we need to defend against is not visible, which is why I think we’re so easily deceived, and why “out of sight, out of mind” can be so deadly.
“…one of the most important things we need to learn… is how to guard, strengthen, and renew our minds, because the battle… always starts in the mind.” – Rick Warren
We face relentless attacks that require a mental rigor that successfully defends against enemies in the physical and spiritual realms.
EXECUTE | The Battlefield of the Mind Demands a Battle Plan
When you consider that this battle for the mind involves a persistent enemy, and the fact that there will never be peace, you’d better have a plan in order to remain sensitive to the “troop movement and changing tactics” of the enemy.
The Battle is real.
The battle is real, the enemy is real, and our need to be freed from ignorance and complacency is real. Sam Storm provides what he believes are 12 reasons why “Christians are tragically ignorant of and dangerously ill-prepared for spiritual warfare” in his article on confronting spiritual warfare. It is sobering, even embarrassing, to consider how easily we’ve been sidelined. Passivity in our consumption of the Bible, the distraction of our “western world-view”, pride, and “insulated life-styles” are just several of the issues. Storm suggests that we find the balanced understanding between 1 John 4:4 and 1 John 5:19 so as to prevent the extremes of “obsessive preoccupation (based on their focus on 1 John 5:19 to the neglect of 1 John 4:4), or complacent indifference (based on their focus on 1 John 4:4 to the neglect of 1 John 5:19).”
Avoid “complacent indifference” of: “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” – 1 John 4:4
Avoid “obsessive preoccupation” of: “We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” – 1 John 5:19
We can’t lose sight of the fact that we’re in a battle, but, that there is every reason to hope. I like to describe it as “confident vigilance”. That is, we need to be careful, but we don’t have to be scared.
Seek and Destroy.
As it is in sports, so it is in battle. You need both a good offense and defense to be successful. We see this in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5. In the first part of those verses, you see the offense, which is to destroy strongholds:
“For the weapons of our warfare… [are] divine power… to destroy strongholds… [to] destroy arguments and every lofty opinion… [that are] raised against the knowledge of God…” – 2 Corinthians 10:4-5a
Whether a worldview, an attitude or opinion–any thought or mindset that has taken residence and dug in deep that runs counter to the truth is to be destroyed.
Incoming!
Verse 5 closes with a defensive tactic: “…and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” We are to be diligent in capturing each and every thought and forcing right thinking.
“The Greek word aichmaløtizø [take captive] there means “to control, to conquer, to bring into submission.” – Rick Warren
Test every thought. Because of sin, our minds are “broken” and even pre-conditioned to not think correctly. We need to confirm alignment with the truth.
Strengthen the filter. Monitor everything you feed your brain. Prayer (without ceasing, and about everything) and fixation on God’s Word (what is right, true and pure) are two ways that we “tighten up the holes.”
Learn to love knowledge and wisdom. Frequent and consistent feeding of the mind until knowledge is developed into conviction, and conviction expressed through our character.
“The vast or great majority of all spiritual warfare never need go beyond the regular practice of living out your position in Christ by faith.” – Chip Ingram
Pray for discernment. Feeding on God’s Word fuels and guides our focus in prayer. It not only makes it effective and fruitful, but also particular to the cracks and crevices where the adversary seeps in.
“Prayer is like bringing a gun to a knife fight.” – Skip Heitzig
With our minds finely tuned, we’ll better know where to step, when to duck, or whether or not to charge in the battlefield of the mind.
Further Reading:
how to do battle with the enemy and win – part 1
confronting reality of spiritual warfare
how to prepare for spiritual battle
