Mensa Otabil - The Battle Is In The Mind
- Watch
- Donate
Second Corinthians chapter 10, verses 4 and 5. 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 thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Every believer, every Christian, is engaged in warfare; there’s a battle going on.
Some call it a spiritual battle; others call it a mental battle. However you look at it, it’s a battle taking place.The interesting thing about the believer’s warfare is that the believer is not seeking to gain victory in his or her warfare but seeking to enforce his or her victory. That means the victory has already been won for us. Jesus Christ died, and He rose again from the dead, and that is our victory. That is what we fight to enforce.
So why are we fighting if Jesus has already won the victory? We have an enemy, an adversary, who uses thoughts and ideas to counteract what Christ has done. He will throw doubts in your mind, making you doubt who God is, making you doubt what Christ has done for you, and trying to shift your faith into something else instead of what Christ has accomplished for us. That is where the battle lies, and that is what we deal with. The enemy will throw doubts against us.
The scripture says that he comes in like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. He cannot devour everyone, but there is a whom he may devour, and those whom the enemy can devour are those who believe his lies. He is a master of lies, and his number one lie is to undermine Christ and His power at work in us. That’s what every believer’s battle is about; it’s a battlefield that takes place in our minds with arguments, concepts, and thoughts that we have to bring under captivity.
Every thought that makes you doubt who God is, every thought that makes you doubt who Christ is and what He has done for you, every thought that makes you feel you are nothing or nobody in this world and can achieve nothing is a negative thought that must be taken captive, and you must be able to cast that thought out. That is the warfare we are engaged in.In every battle, enemies seek to capture specific spots; sometimes they capture enemy soldiers or specific locations advantageous to the battle. What we do as Christians is capture thoughts and reject what the enemy wants to throw against us, casting it down.
If you look at the passage clearly, it states that there are two things we are really fighting against: imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Many times the battles we face are projections in our minds. We often expect the worst; we visualize our lives falling apart, imagining things that are not real. Ask yourself: who is planting those imaginations in our minds about our marriage, our children, our finances, and our health? We begin to feel depressed about things that haven’t even happened.
It’s a warfare, and you must capture that imagination and cast it out. Who is the one throwing doubts in your mind that what God says is not true, that God doesn’t love you, that God doesn’t have a plan for you, or that nothing is working well in your life? That’s not God because He says all things are working together for your good. So every thought that tells you nothing is working, that nothing can work, and that you won’t amount to anything must be fought.
That’s the warfare we are engaging in; we are capturing thoughts and imaginations that are contrary to the knowledge of God. I want you to win that battle. I want you to win that battle of the mind. I want you to be all that God wants you to be. I want you to rise up and be the head and not the tail. I want you to enjoy life and enjoy it more abundantly. That’s God’s desire for you. He expects you, even in the midst of trials, to come out triumphantly with a song and a testimony. That will be your story; you will come out of whatever you’re going through, and your testimony will be heard, and God will be glorified. Capture every negative thought and cast it out.
Let us pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, I cast down every thought of fear and defeat. Thank you for the victory of the cross. In Jesus' name, amen.
Amen. Well, I’ll catch you again tomorrow. I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.