John Hagee - The Battle For Your Mind
Turn to Matthew 22:37 and 38, as we begin this sermon today, "The Battle For Your Mind". The greatest battles to be fought in the future will not be with nuclear weapons that have the power to transform planet earth into a spinning graveyard. The greatest battle that you're going to fight in the future will be on the battlefield of your mind. The Bible has much to say about your mind. Isaiah 26:3 says, "I will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee". Mark 12:30: you shall love the Lord with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and all of your mind. Romans 12:2: be strengthened in the renewing of your mind. Philippians 2:5: let this mind be in you which was also in Jesus Christ. 2 Timothy 1:7: God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love and of a sound mind. James 1:8: a double-minded man is unstable in all of his ways.
2 Corinthians 11:3: but I fear that Satan, through his subtlety, should corrupt your mind concerning the simplicity that is in Christ. Your success or failure in life and in the Kingdom of God is going to be determined on the battlefield of your mind. Turn to Matthew 22:37, 38, and let's read together: Jesus said unto him, "You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and all of your mind". Now listen to these words. "This is the first and great commandment". The Bible is saying this is just not another verse: this is the first and great commandment. This is top priority to get your mind into the mind of God. Let's pray:
Father, thank you today for your word. Thank you for your children that are here to hear it and those who are listening across America and around the world. We now, in the authority of Jesus' name, take charge and control over all powers and principalities that keep the message of the mind from being clear and being received. In Jesus' name, we pray and ask it. And all of God's children said, amen.
You may be seated. The battlefield of the mind is where the destiny of men and nations is determined. The battlefield of the minds of our children is now being waged in the our public schools, teaching the critical race theory and socialism. They're being taught that transsexual concepts that boys can be girls and girls can be boys. What's wrong with that? What's wrong with that is that it's absolute rebellion against the pattern of God. "In the beginning, God created male and female". And that's the pattern, and you can't improve it. Leave it alone! The enemies of America: the enemies of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness have captured our children in the public schools and is poisoning their minds 40 hours a week.
The battle for our children and grandchildren is being waged right now. There will be a winner and a loser. And the winner is those who are able to save the nation. There is a solution, as my friend, Billy Graham, said, "When the brave take a stand, the spines of others are stiffened". I like that statement. The solution is for parents to demand that state government allow parents the right to send their children to the school of their choice and their tax dollars to follow that child. Your children belong to you: they do not belong to the state. The Bible places the responsibility on the father. Ephesians 6: "You fathers train your children in the way of the Lord," not mother, not the boy scouts, not the schoolhouse. You teach your children the paths of righteousness.
You have heard it said, "If we do not use our freedom to defend our freedom, we are going to lose our freedom in this country". And ladies and gentlemen, freedom is under attack in the United States of America. The battlefield of the mind in America is being waged between good and evil, right and wrong, truth and deception in the pulpits of our churches. Pastors of America, our nation needs a moral and spiritual revival that sweeps this nation from coast to coast. It will come with the preaching of Bible truth. The Bible says, "You shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free". Get in the pulpit and preach the Word of God, the living truth of the Lord of heaven!
And now comes the proverbial truth that Pilate asked: "What is truth"? truth is not your opinion. truth is what God's word says it is. truth is right opposed to wrong. truth is good opposed to evil. truth is fact opposed to fiction. truth has power. truth destroys hypocrisy. truth exposes deceit. truth is not swayed by flattery. truth will not tolerate evasion. truth will not share the platform with pretense. Jesus Christ said, "I am the way, the truth and the life". "He that believeth in me shall never die". That's the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Give the Lord praise in the house.
Consider the battle in your mind. On the battlefield of your mind, the greatest enemy that you're going to face is you. Right now, I want you to be the judge and jury of your thoughts. How would you judge your thoughts? Do you see yourself as hopeful, joyous, peaceful? Or are you bitter, resentful, burned out, constantly complaining? Are you angry most of the time, troubled, hopeless about your future? Do you live in the dark world of depression? The fact is your thoughts determine your attitude, and your attitude determines your attainments. Therefore, when you change your thoughts, you change your life. Say that with me. "When you change your thoughts, you change your life".
And you can change your thoughts. Go to the visual. Your brain is compartmentalized. Just to keep it simple, let's say that in your brain there is a series of drawers that you can pull out like a chester drawer. There is worry, fear, anger, and doubt. You can look at yourself, and you submit yourself to all four of those before they get hold of you. Or you can choose love, joy, peace, and hope. It's a choice of which one of these you want. So dear lady, when your husband comes home from work and he's flushed in his face, and you can tell he's angry about something, and he says, "So what's for supper"? You know he's over here on this side. And you need to lead him by the hand back out in the garage, and say, "Sweetheart, pull another file out. I want you to get on this side: love, joy, peace, and hope. And when you have that, come back in the house". And all the ladies said...
The person, who is guaranteed to fail in life, is the person who constantly worries. Your worry is saying you don't have confidence in God to take care of you. The person, who succeeds in life, who is filled of love, joy, peace, and hope, will have a life that, in spite of the circumstances around them, will be a joyous life. Let me tell you, I understand that fake news is poisoning the minds of Americans every time you turn on the television. You hear what's going on in Washington and it's enough to give you a migraine headache. Forget those clowns up there. Forget them! Look toward the cross of Jesus Christ. He is the author and the finisher of our faith! Love, joy, peace, we have that in Jesus Christ! "As a man or a woman thinketh, so is he". Give the Lord praise in the house!
So what is an attitude? Your attitude is an inward feeling expressed by outward behavior. That's why your attitude shows without you saying a word. What is an attitude? It's the portrait of your mind. It's the advance man of your rear self. Its roots are hidden, but the fruit is always visible. It's our best friend or it's our worst enemy. It draws people to us or repels people from us. It's never content until it's expressed. It will determine your success or your failure. It does not depend on the circumstance. A believer with the mind of Christ has a rock-ribbed confidence that endures no matter what the circumstance happens to be. The Bible presents the attitude of the righteous.
I want to tell you something. Christians in America need to develop a spine. We need to stand for what we believe like the ACLU stands for what they believe. And what all these God-hating people do when they get cornered, they argue their point. Don't put your head down and be dominated by someone because they disagree with you. You tell them what you believe the Bible says. Your attitude is your choice. It's not chance. You cannot change what you will not confront. You will never change what you cannot confront. You need to learn to believe in you, because God believes in you. You are sons and daughters of the Most High God. The royal blood of heaven is flowing in your veins.
Do not allow the past to control you. Do not allow other people to control you. Be somebody! God created a special person when you were born. God never creates a nobody. Do it, in Jesus' name! Your success is tied to your thought life. The job never makes the man. It's the man who makes the job. Your thoughts control your destiny. You can't be a success trying to be all things to all people. Stop trying to please people. When God created you, there's no other human being on the earth like you. Be glad you are who you are. Don't die a cheap copy trying to be somebody else. You are priceless. Act like it. Talk like it. Think like it. Live like it! Give the Lord praise in the house!
Stop saying, "I can't," and start saying, "I can do all things through Christ". Stop saying, "If". Stop saying, "If" and say, "I will by God's grace". Stop saying, "It's impossible," because nothing is impossible to those that believe and are called according to the purposes of God. Stop saying, "I don't know the right people". You know God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. They created the earth and they can beat any demon that's chasing you. They have all power in heaven and in earth. People say, "Well, I'm not an expert". Let me remind you the Titanic was built by experts. The ark was built by amateurs. Which ride do you want? Saint James had the attitude of the righteous. He said, "Count it all joy when you encounter the storms of life". "Count it all joy when you encounter the storms of life".
There is no such thing as the untroubled life. Trouble is proof that you're a card-carrying member of the human race. Jesus said to his disciples, "And you shall be hated of all men for my name's sake. But he that endures to the end, the same shall be saved". Ladies and gentlemen of America, Christians of America, why do we feel sleepy in prayer and stay awake through a three-hour movie? Why are we bored when we read the Bible, but find it easy to read a 300-page novel? When America is swimming in a moral sewer, why is it so easy to worship a celebrity, but very difficult to worship the living God? The time to hunger and thirst after righteousness is right now. Hunger and thirst after righteousness, because if America does not have a revival, America is not going to survive. Trouble does not mean that God doesn't love you. Trouble means you're a card-carrying member of the human race. Trouble strengthens you. Trouble tests your fortitude. Trouble makes you face the facts. Trouble reminds you that you are mortal. Trouble reminds you that your strength is not enough. Your knowledge is not enough.
The Bible says, "Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and lean not to your own understanding: in all of your ways, acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths". When you have the attitude of the righteous, you can look the devil in the eye, because the victory is ours through Christ. Do not fear the forces of hell. The occult is sweeping America. The Bible says, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you". He's terrified of you. Don't be afraid of him. Today, I refer to the December 1971 event, when a man walked into my church with a loaded gun. He was about 10-feet from me. And he said, "I've come here to kill you to prove that Satan has more power than Jesus Christ". I picked up the Bible and said, "This book says, 'no weapon formed against me shall prosper'". He said, "I'm going to kill you on a count of three". He lied.
On the count of two, he started shooting. He shot six times, and God's angels protected me from every shot. The God that we serve is El Shaddai. He is from everlasting to everlasting. He is the alpha and the omega. He is the great shepherd of the sheep. He is the great physician. He is our defender. He is Almighty. He is all knowing. He is all powerful. He is Emmanuel, God with us: the hope of glory. He is the way. He is the truth. He is the life. He is our rock. He is our fortress. He is our shield. He is our buckler. He is our high tower. He is our shelter in the time of the storm. He is the Lord of glory. He is the light of the world, the lion of Judah, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords! Give him praise in this house!
Listen to saint Paul teach you how to get over your past. "Forgetting those things which are behind", say that with me, "Forgetting those things which are past and reaching forward to what lies ahead. I press toward the prize of the Mark of the high calling which is in Christ Jesus". The attitude of the righteous turns problems into provision. If what you're doing doesn't have resistance, what you're doing is not worth doing. Without resistance of water, a ship can't float. Without the resistance of air, an airplane can't fly. Without the resistance of gravity, you can't walk out of this building. If you've run into a stone wall, endure, hold on, fight the good fight, call upon the name of the Lord. "Joy comes in the morning". "They that endure to the end, the same shall be saved". "Put on the whole armor of God and resist what's coming against you".
Adversity is opportunity for those who possess the mind of Christ. Adversity is God's university. God doesn't use anyone until he puts you through the adversity factor. A rubber band is effective only when it's stretched. The tea kettle, when it's up to its neck in hot water, sings its finest song. Winston Churchill said, "The nose of a bulldog is sloped back, so it can bite and breathe without turning loose". I love that. Joseph came to the throne of Egypt through the adversity of slander, betrayal, abuse, persecution.
Listen. If you cannot endure the persecution of the pit, you will be destroyed by the prosperity of the palace. I want you to get that in your brain and let it sizzle for just a minute. If you cannot endure the persecution in the pit, you will be destroyed by the prosperity of the palace. And let me tell you, prosperity has destroyed more people than has poverty. God uses no one until he puts you through the blast furnace of the adversity to check your fortitude factor. The person in the blast furnace is next in line for promotion. Is this you? Don't give up. God will give you the opportunity to stand the pressure to go through that university of adversity. Call it "Fiery furnace". Call it whatever you want. But God will not promote you until you stand that blast furnace. What does it take to make you quit?
A man was walking through a graveyard at midnight, and he fell into a freshly-dug grave. He jumped, and he jumped, and he jumped, and he just couldn't get out. A few minutes later, another man fell in the other end of the same grave. He jumped, and he jumped, and he jumped, and he couldn't get out. Exhausted and defeated, he sat down. Suddenly, a voice came from this side of the grave, "You can't get out of here". But he did. This actually happened. A mother had given her nine-year-old son piano lessons, and he was going nowhere. How many of you've given your children piano lessons and they didn't come out playing "Chopsticks"?
So in desperation, she took her son to hear Paderewski, who was a great concert pianist. They walked into the theatre. The mother sat down and started talking to the woman next to her. Her nine-year-old son saw the massive ebony Steinway grand piano on the platform, and he walked up on the stage, and sat down, and started playing "Chopsticks". The crowd was horrified. They stood up and shouted, "Stop"! Paderewski was backstage, and he heard, and he walked out on the stage, and he saw the boy. And he sat down beside him, and he said, "Don't stop. Don't stop. Just keep playing".
And Paderewski, on the spot, composed a concerto that caused that "Chopstick" to be a thing of beauty that was unimaginable. And at the end, the audience applauded what had been done. Sometimes in life, your finest efforts are nothing more than "Chopsticks". And God Almighty walks into your life and says, "Don't quit. Just keep doing what you're doing. Just let me sit beside you. And I'm going to give you a composition that will make your life a thing of beauty. Just don't stop. Just don't stop".
Will you stand to your feet? How many of you in this room can say, pastor, I am prone to be a person of worry, of doubt, of cynicism, of sarcasm. I tend to have a negative personality most of the time. Based on what you're saying today in the Word of God, I want that to go away. I want the Lord Jesus to come and sit down beside me and make the things that I'm doing, a thing of beauty. If that describes you, I want you to slip your hand up right where you are. God bless you. I want you to pray this prayer with me:
Heavenly Father, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I turn my life over to you to. All of my negative thoughts, all of my fear, all of my doubt, all of my worry, you take it. And let my life be lived filled with peace, love, and joy. In Jesus' name, I receive that. Amen.