Leon Fontaine - Battles of the Mind
Today, we're gonna talk about what kind of power does the devil have in your life and can he just come in and destroy you or hurt you. 'Cause the Bible says that's the desire he came to, kill, steal, and destroy. What about our minds? Can he read our minds? What about people that are struggling with so much anxiety and stress today? That is just off the charts. They say that literally depression is gonna affect 80% of the population at some point in your life. And so, all these stats are just showing us a world that is out of control in their mind. Where's the devil in all of this? And does he have a lot of power? If he does, how do we shut him down?
Let's dive into this topic and I believe I can help you totally go to a place of peace and power when it comes to dealing with this topic. All right, John 8:44, Jesus is talking about the devil and He says, "You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own for he is a liar and the father of it". All right, let's talk about the devil for a minute and we're not gonna go into deep in every area. But we need to understand his basic flaws and his personality. He is a liar.
Now, whenever you meet a really good liar, the reason they are a liar it's because they have no good truth. If a person is hugely successful doesn't need your money, you know, and has all the goods intact. He can just speak truth. But if he doesn't have anything and he's trying to rip you off and sell you something and he's not doing well. So, this is why liars lie. It's because they're trying to get something from you that they want, that they need. The devil doesn't have anything. He's a liar. He has no power. The Bible, we're gonna find out in a little bit says that he was stripped of all the power against you. And I'll show you how that works and what that means because a lot of Christianity doesn't have this figured out. We hear a lot of stories like, he's the devil had his teeth pulled. He's like a roaring lion. I totally agree. But how did he pull his teeth, etcetera.
So he's a liar. Now, that means that every negative thing that comes into your mind. You see, the Bible talks about it in Ephesians chapter 6, that we have a shield of faith and that when a fiery dart comes at us, like an arrow what it's talking about. That if you don't have the shield of faith up, it hits you. And all of a sudden, the thought if it carries fear, if it carries, you know, disgrace, if it carries unhappiness, if it carries lust, if it carries, every thought the enemy would try to shoot at you. He's trying to sink it deep into you. And so if you don't have, if you're not born again, and you wouldn't have built up the shield of faith, which is faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. We talked about that.
So this faith comes into you and every time a fiery dart comes like, okay, this is just God's getting back at you. The shield of faith goes up, and it stops that arrow from hitting you and the thought that goes with it. That this is God getting you back for your former sense. Now, faith is, comes from God's Word and the reason it would stop it. It's because inside of you would go, "No. Jesus has set me free. He took my sin. He took the curse of the Law". And that thought is literally put out instantly, just douse. The flaming arrow just douse, has no ability to get you. But if a person doesn't know and he's never been taught or he doesn't believe that Jesus took all your sin. Then He took all your punishment for your sin. And they've been taught, "Well, you know, but, but, but".
Buts have a real way of wrecking God's Word. Then the shield of faith can't stop that arrow. It comes whistling right pass all of your armor and it sinks deep into you and you begin to wrestle with this thought. The enemy can shoot thoughts at your mind. He cannot read your mind. As a believer, we have the mind of Christ. Jesus is within us. But he is a pro at reading people's expressions, micro expressions. He's watched your habits for years. He know how easy it is to tempt you to food, to sex, to tempt you to anything. He've studied you. The Bible says there are familiar spirits which is from the root word family. Which means they've studied you and so they know your weaknesses. When an enemy is coming at a walled city, he doesn't come up at the thickest part of the wall. He doesn't come where the walls being defended by the greatest warriors. He comes at the wall where there are holes, where it's the weakest part. And the Bible says that your mind is the walls of your spirit. And so what you believed if it's not true, that where he will attack you.
So according to John 8:32, you will know the truth and it's the truth that sets you free from the attack of the enemy. Now, if you don't know the truth for example about your past life as a Christian, and that you are free from all of the things that would, then what happens is, if you don't know that. He'll attack you there continually and you will live a life of living in regret, living in condemnation, living in guilt all the time. Everywhere you go the first you're gonna thinking about, "I wonder if they know that this was my past. I wonder if they find out, if they're gonna be my friend. I wonder if God will bless me because of this". So every truth in the Bible has an ability to stop every fiery dart in that area. Do you even know your power? Do you even know your authority? Are there areas you don't know the authority and the power and the principles of God? And the seconds he finds an area where you don't know. That's the area he attacks.
If you'd believe the truth, Galatians 3:13, that Jesus became a curse for us. And that, so it says there that Jesus became a curse for us so that we can have the blessings in our lives. Now, if you don't know that and know the truth when thoughts come at you, "I'm just feeling a little bit sick. I wonder if it's the symptoms of cancer". You know, and you begin to read all this stuff and you watch TV shows. And his goal is to shoot arrows like thoughts and beliefs at you to see if you'll hang on to it because he has no power to hurt you unless you can turn your believing against you. You see, your believing is very powerful. If you believe that, say you're a lady and you've been taught by your parents that, or your mom that men are just pigs. They only want one thing. There are no good men out there.
Now, if you believed that, it doesn't matter how great a man you marry, you will super impose your beliefs upon him. You will doubt everything he does and see a selfish motive even if it's not a selfish motive. So the enemy will study you and he will see where your beliefs are wrong. The Bible says the devil is as a roaring lion, walking about seeking whom can he devour. What's he looking for? Well, he is looking for beliefs. He's looking see if you know who you are. Do you even know your power? Do you even know your authority? Are there areas you don't know the authority and the power and the principles of God? And the seconds he finds an area where you don't know. That's the area he attacks. It's wonderful to know that every negative thought that comes at you. If it's coming from the enemy, he's a liar. So everything's a lie and he's trying to get you to turn your beliefs against yourself.
Now, Colossians chapter 2. Okay, I wanna unpack this because this is gonna help believers immensely. This shows you kind of what, how, and what Jesus did. What did He do that actually destroyed Satan's power in regards to your marriage, your life, your health, your business, your kids, and all of your grandkids, etcetera, so listen close. It says, "When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, Jesus, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of the decrees against us, which was hostile to us and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross".
Let's stop right there. The enemy knows that in the Old Testament when you sin, judgement came. The Bible's very clear. For example, if you killed somebody even by accident. That man's family would go and try to kill you and you would have to run for a city of refuge. And if you get to the city of refuge, you would be safe there. But an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. Even if you didn't mean it. The law was really strong. If you committed a sin, for example when children were just disobedient and wouldn't listen to their parents. They were to be stoned in the Old Testament and the parents will have to throw the first rocks. So when there was sin, judgment came. And so whenever we would ever we try to live for God, the enemy would try to bring our sin up against us and so that we are expecting judgment. We're expecting the curse of the Law.
In Deuteronomy 28:1 to over 60 verses, it talks about if you obey God's commandments, bless. If you disobey, curses come on your life. That's Old Testament. When you give your life to Jesus Christ, here it says that Jesus forgave us all our transgressions and He's canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us. So every law that you broke has an accompanying curse that goes with it and it's a debt you have to pay. It could be death. It could be sickness. It could be captivity. It could be the curse of the Law. It was coming at you and it had a right to take you out because you had sin. You had done something wrong. And so when Jesus died for you and I, He died for, He became sin. He took our sin and He took the curse of the Law that goes with it.
Now, because Jesus was nailed to the cross in our place, all of the debts that you deserved to die. You deserved to be sick. You deserved to be poor. You deserved to have mental illness. You deserved to lose your marriage. You deserved, you deserved all these things because of what you've done. The enemy cannot bring it into your life because Jesus took it. It was nailed to the cross. Who was nailed to the cross? Jesus was. When Jesus was nailed to the cross, all your debts for all your sins, all your curses, were nailed there for you. Now, look what it says next in Colossians 2:13 and on, "When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him".
All right, so what makes the devil have, now, when people say, Well, you know, that Jesus has stripped the devil of his power. It was he place sometimes where they know Jesus' is fighting with the devil in hell which I don't think took placed because he's not there, yet. But he's gonna spend eternity there. I think that the enemy, I will see him wrestling and throwing him into lock and Jesus defeats him, put His foot on him. Now, all these pictures are very beautiful so don't get me wrong. But really what took placed is that when Jesus took my sin and your sin, okay. Now, all of those sins were to bring the curse of the Law and He took all of the curse as well. Anytime that you've done something wrong and the devil shoot a thought at you and it goes, "Yeah, when you're an 18-year old girl you had an abortion and because of that your kids are sick today years later when you get married". Hey, that's what he'll do.
And I've counseled many people who begin to think that way and I said, "Listen, let's go to Colossians chapter 2. You need to know your sin was nailed to the tree. The debt that you have, the curse that had, it did have a right to come into your life. But when you accepted salvation and what Jesus has done for you. Then all of the debt that the curse could come in, all of this wretched against you the enemy could stand before us and just go, "You know you're getting this. I have a right to bring it in". He doesn't. Now, if you do things wrong, Satan no longer has any authority to come into your life even when you fall into sin. Okay? The curse or the things that happened to you were not brought upon you by God. It is not God that's allowing the curse into your life because Jesus took the curse on the cross. What is happening is the simple law of sowing and reaping.
For example, if you walk up to a crowd of men downtown and you just one guy just strikes you the wrong way. You just punched him right in the face. And all four of them stumped you, break your legs, teeth, jaw. You're in the hospital for a year and you think that was God getting you. No, that was just a consequence for a dumb action you did. The earth has consequences. Jump off a five-story building and when you got all crippled or dead, you think, "Why didn't God protect me? You know, God allowed me to die". No, no, no. There are things that go on in this world that, you know, you can believe all you want for a great marriage. But if you keep screaming at your spouse, okay. It's not gonna be a happy time.
So, what I want you to understand from Colossians 2 and let's read that again now that I've said it. He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us. All right. I mean, they know. The spirit realm knows everything you've done wrong and the accompanying curse that goes with it. So people who lived in the Old Testament and don't understand the cross. Oh, man. Do they live in fear? 'Cause they know that what they've done wrong that for sure God's gonna make sure they think that its gonna come. Its gonna nail them. But when you recognize, know Jesus took it and God delights in forgiveness and mercy.
And someone say, "Leon, you know this message of grace and mercy in the cross is gonna encourage people to sin". No, people are doing a great job of sinning without this message. But the thing is, let's say, let's say that you're right. That someone goes, "Woohoo, I can go do whatever I want. God's never gonna get me". No, no, no. God won't but everybody else well. Keep lying, no one will do business with you, no one will be your friend, no one will stay married to you. Keep committing adultery, no person's gonna wanna stay married to you, no one's gonna even trust being around you with their spouses. Keep stealing money from people and again, you'll never get a job. You'll never get a career. You'll wreck your reputation.
So all of these sins that we commit have an impact on us in this natural world. But what's beautiful about God's grace is that all of the sins you've committed in the past and all the sins you've committed in the future. That Jesus took them on the cross, died them, and he cancelled out this debt. Any power the enemy might have had on you, Jesus took all of the punishment, all of that debt upon Himself and you are now free. You must understand this to render every attack of the enemy null and void. Because in Corinthians 10:3-6, it talks about the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds. And these strongholds are ways you think. They're theories, arguments. It's what the Amplified Bible says, so the enemy tries to build into your beliefs that he's got a right.
I even hear Christians say today, "Oh, I gave the devil authority to come into my life by doing this sin". What a horrible thing to say. If the devil's got authority to walk into your life, he's gonna kill what you love. He's gonna steal everything you have. He's gonna destroy everything he can. The devil does not have a right to come into your life. Now, there are times you might give him opportunity. Like, let's say that you ripped off a guy, your neighbor ripped him off really good and this man who's under demonic influence decides to come at you and come at you and doesn't stop for years and years and years.
Well, that's not God, okay. Now, the devil doesn't have a right to come into your life but you've just gave him an opportunity. And the Bible does say don't give the devil opportunities. That is why we must and God's given us the power to live right. And His power, His grace, His ability is on you and anything you never could stop in the past, you've got the power to now as you meditate in God's Word. You know, this is the area that I have seen incredible victory to Christians, is understanding the cross. And that everything you've done wrong in the past and in the future Jesus knew it. 2.000 years ago all your sins were in the future and He died for them and the curse that was supposed to come, came on Jesus.
And so anytime the enemy comes at you with a thought that sickness has a right, diseases has a right, an accidents, someone dies, and he makes you feel guilty, "Oh, this probably happen because, you know, I had an abortion or because I hurt that person or I killed somebody with my car when I was drunk or I've heard so many stories. You need to know that that is a lie from the enemy. And when you know who you are and what Jesus' has done for you. Every thought, what extinguishes that thought.
Now, let's back away from the picture of a shield. Your mind and your heart are armed with truth. And every time the enemy, he's throwing an arrow, coming arrows at you. Every one of those arrows will be a lie but he's waiting to see which arrow sticks, which arrow causes fear, which thought hits your head and he can see, you just begin to stop and you begin to change all day as you worry. He knows that's the thought that's getting through. And then, he'll try to get lots of this circumstances and things around you to agree with that thought. Oh, if I could tell you the Bible says in John 8:31, "If you continue in My Word, then are you My discipline followers indeed and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free". When you become a disciple that means discipline in the truths of God's Word. The enemy has lost all hope at hurting you, getting you out of peace, getting you out of joy, changing anything in your future from finances, to relationships, to homes, to health. He has no power when you know the truth.