Battlefield of the Mind - Leaders' Talks

Hey, I'm Steve Holt, the senior pastor of the Road at Chapel Hills.

This is the Red Podcast.

Thanks for joining us.

My heart is to empower you to change the world.

I hope this message impacts you.

Here now is our guest speaker.

Hi, welcome to the road.

My name is George.

I'm one of the overseers here.

Let's go ahead and open with prayer and we'll just dive right on in because this is the message that's been tailored specifically just for you.

Heavenly Father, we pause.

We thank you for the presence of your Holy Spirit.

We thank you, for without Him, we can do nothing.

Lord, I pray that you will help me this morning to speak in a way that is easily understood, to speak in a way that is anointed by your Spirit, quickened to the hearts and minds of those that you love so desperately.

Lord, we ask it in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

So Pastor Steve, as you know, has been in a series on spiritual warfare.

And with him being in Georgia ministering to a bunch of guys down there, asked if I would bring a message in keeping with the same theme.

And so I prayed about that, and it's like, okay, he's talked about an awful lot of stuff.

He shared an awful lot of scriptures.

I'm not sure there's a whole lot left.

And then it's like the Lord spoke to me and said, Yes, but where does it start?

The battlefield of a mind.

Here's where the battle begins, and here's where the victory is won.

So I want to talk to you about that.

So a very familiar verse of scripture that I know Pastor Steve has already spoken on, Ephesians 6, 10 through 12.

Let me read that for you.

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes, which are numerous.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but it is against the rulers, against authorities, against powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

It's not against your mate.

It's not against your children.

It's not against Pastor Steve.

But we are in a fight.

We are in a fight.

Have you ever asked yourself the question, why?

Why does the devil hate me so much?

I mean, seriously, what have we ever done to hurt him?

Why is he so determined to mess with you?

Why is he so determined to somehow uproot and just simply destroy your life?

Well, I want to answer that question first and foremost.

Because he can't get to the Father.

Satan cannot get to the Father.

He can't hurt him.

Well, if you can't hurt Dad, then what's the next best target?

His kids.

You see, as Christians, you bear the image of Christ.

And because you bear that image, he hates you because he hates the image and he wants to somehow smudge that image.

He wants to soil that image.

Because if he can hurt you, he can hurt the heart of God.

It's not about you.

It's never been about you.

How does he hurt the heart of God?

You know, I've had all kinds of things said about me, not all have been flattering.

I can let that go.

I can move on.

But you say something about my kids, you say something about my wife, you better be prepared for a fight.

So it began in the book of Genesis with our dear sister Eve.

Everyone, you've heard of Eve, correct?

It's an interesting thing.

Again, think about what is the strategy of the enemy.

He wants to confuse, he wants to dilute, he wants you to question.

He wants to take you to a place of compromise.

Here's where it started, right here, Galatians, Genesis 3, verses 1 through 5.

Genesis 3:1–5

Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all creatures of the Lord God had made.

There are no more secrets.

And yet we continue to fall.

He goes on talking to Eve.

Did God really say you must not eat of the fruit of the garden?

Of course we may eat of it.

The woman told him, it's only the fruit from the tree in the center of the garden that we are not allowed to eat, because God said, You must not eat it or even touch it.

Now, did God actually say not to touch it?

I don't remember him saying that.

The enemy has never, ever changed his tactics.

He'll get you to question God, he'll get you to add to what God has said, because confusion is a great tool.

So, a couple of thousand years later, the Apostle Paul talking to a congregation very similar to this in Corinth, and very concerned about the same kind of battle of the mind, he said this to them in 2 Corinthians 13 and verse 3.

I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, that your minds may be led astray from the simple and pure devotion to Christ.

Isn't that interesting?

All these years later, all these generations later, the Apostle Paul is standing in front of a group of people and he's saying, Do you remember what happened to Eve?

Do you remember how the enemy caused her to question, caused her to add to?

And by the way, why would he withhold something that is so good for you?

I mean, what is God's problem that, I mean, this is something good.

You'll be able to be like God.

You'll be able to discern what's good and what's bad.

And doesn't he use the same tactics with us today?

Same ones, same ones.

Francis Fanjipan, in his book, The Three Battlegrounds, wrote: You will remember that the location where Jesus was crucified was called Galgatha, which meant place of the skull.

If we will be effective in spiritual warfare, the field of conflict where we must learn warfare is the battlefield of the mind.

The place of the skull.

The unregenerate mind.

Understand the context.

Paul is ministering to believers in the Lord Jesus Christ.

I'm talking to you this morning as brothers and sisters in the Lord.

And I want you to try to discern the difference between what does it mean to follow Christ, to stay in step with the Spirit, versus to slip into the deception and start walking in step in sync with the enemy.

And he says in Ephesians 4, 17 through 19, with the Lord's authority, let me say this to you.

Live no longer as the ungodly do, for they are hopelessly confused.

Their closed minds are full of darkness.

They are far away from the life of God because they have shut their minds, they've hardened their hearts against Him.

They don't care anymore about what is right and wrong.

And they have given themselves over to immoral ways.

Their lives are filled with all kinds of impurity and greed.

He's talking about the unregenerate mind, the mind of a person who doesn't know Christ, doesn't follow Christ, doesn't care about what is right or wrong, pursues his own desires, and he's talking to the church and he's saying, hello, don't do this.

That's not who you are anymore.

Now, why does he feel it so important to bring up something that is so controversial?

Why would he say to followers of Christ, don't be like the unsaved?

May I submit to you because we struggle with being Christians.

We say the right thing, we do the right thing in public.

But we're when we're out of the public eye, you know who you truly are is who you are in secret.

The person that you are, when the lights are out and the crowd is gone, that's the true you.

And he's trying to communicate in a way that is so concrete, there's a difference.

Do you remember the difference?

Titus 1, 15 through 16.

To the pure, all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure.

In fact, both their minds and their consciences are corrupted.

They claim to know God, but their actions, by their actions, they deny him.

They are detestable, disobedient, and unfit for doing anything good.

That is the person I used to be.

I can put my name in there and know that everything he's saying was true about me.

My father forbid my mother even to take us to church.

And then around the age of 12, I found my dad's pornography.

Couple of years later, mom and dad got divorced.

And I am so filled with brokenness.

I'm dealing with so much pain, and my mind is so incredibly polluted and twisted.

I was this person.

But the good news is I've been in recovery for 53 years.

No relapse.

No relapse.

But I was that person.

I was the person with an unregenerate mind.

He goes on.

Uh, I want to uh read the next scripture.

One of the tools of the enemy is people.

I know that surprises you.

We have to be careful of associations.

We need to be mindful.

Who are we close to?

If you can imagine a ranch.

Your ranch is surrounded by a really great fence, there's a gate.

I'm real careful about who I let come through that gate.

I'm going to be nice, I'm going to be respectful, I'm going to be kind, but not just anybody has entrance.

I guard the gate.

It's important.

Very important.

1 Corinthians 15, 33, a very familiar scripture.

Bad company corrupts good morals.

Now here's the interesting thing about bad company.

Sometimes you don't have a clue who they are.

True?

You've met somebody, they're pleasant.

I'm thinking a few people right now, we will not name names.

And when you're around them, you cannot help but like them.

They're like a people magnet.

You know anybody like that?

I mean, they are up, they're affirming, they want to hug you, they want to give you a$20 bill just because they will buy your coffee.

They just are so nice until you begin to discover that there are some serious character issues.

There are some serious integrity issues.

And you know the interesting thing about the enemy, um, I've been walking with the Lord for a long time, been in ministry panel 40 years plus, and of all the people I've talked to, which are in the hundreds, hundreds, I have yet to talk with a single person who fell because of a catastrophic event.

I've never met that person.

I have met a lot of people who took a small step, it was uncomfortable, but after a while it became comfortable, and they took another small step, and then they took another small step.

You know, Bob is such a good listener, and Bob is verbally affirming.

And Bob, if you're here, please understand I'm not talking about you.

And and Mary, you know, Mary's got some serious marital issues.

Her husband is not a good listener, he can't spell the word empathy.

And she goes to work, and and Mary, you're doing such a great job.

You're such a great asset.

We're so appreciative of you.

And and Bob makes me feel good and he listens to me.

Well, the problem is, is Bob's got some issues with his marriage.

And we're really comfortable talking about work, and Bob's not a bad guy, he's not an evil guy, but he's got issues and she's got issues, and we start talking about our personal issues.

He's not thinking anything inappropriate.

I mean, she's obviously attractive, but he's not thinking lustful thoughts.

He just enjoys her presence, and she's not thinking anything inappropriate concerning Bob.

He's just a nice guy, and she just feels good in his presence.

You understand where I'm going here.

Pretty soon we're going out of our way to feel good with the person that makes us feel appreciated.

And then we start meeting after work.

And pretty soon, and it doesn't take long, all of a sudden we are thinking things that we shouldn't be thinking.

This is not a bad, Bob is not a bad guy.

Mary is not a bad person.

But you know what?

They're going into a situation that will corrupt the two of them together.

A common, common story.

75% of the people that I counsel are trying to recover from a full-blown affair.

75%?

That's just the ones that I talk to.

And the people are really nice.

These are nice people.

But bad company corrupts good morals.

How do you know when the company is bad and you need to put up a boundary?

When they begin suggesting things, begin thinking things, begin communicating things that compromise your walk with Jesus.

Or they have said nothing at all, but now the battle in your mind, you're going out of your way to be in the presence of someone who makes you feel good and you really, really do like it, and there's somebody of the opposite sex, or maybe even the same.

Do you understand how much God loves you?

Do you understand that when he looks down from heaven, when he sees you, he sees a person of incredible worth and value.

You are precious beyond belief to him.

Can I see your hand?

Can I could you just lift your hand up?

Okay?

Put it right here.

Do you understand what you're touching?

This is the temple of the Holy Ghost.

This is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit loves you so much that when the enemy tries to whisper into your ear, when the enemy tries to mess with your mind, the Holy Spirit will always, always, did I say always?

He will always talk to you.

If you compromise any part of your walk with Christ, please understand you did so with premeditation.

You cannot say legitimately, the temptation was too strong.

I just couldn't resist because that violates God's love concerning you.

Because He says, I know your weaknesses.

I will not allow you to be tempted beyond your capacity to withstand, and I will show you an escape so that you can remain firm.

That is incredible love.

It's incredible love.

Why do we compromise?

Quite frankly, because it feels good.

It feels good.

The scripture tells us there is pleasure in sin for a season.

The devil hits you on two fronts.

First step, I want to entice you.

Any fishermen here besides me?

One or two, we'll pray for the rest of you.

It's a good hobby.

It's about finding the right bait.

The devil knows the lure to use to capture your attention.

And he's going to make sure that he throws it in your direction to try to entice you.

He's going to make sure to do that.

But the Holy Spirit will help you.

Be careful who you allow to sit at your table.

Be evangelistic.

Be pleasant to your waitress or your waiter.

Communicate with your neighbors.

Share the love of the Lord Jesus Christ, but be really, really careful about who puts their feet under your table.

Adam Clark said this: He who frequents the company of the bad or corrupt people will soon be as they are.

He may be sound in his faith and have the life and power of godliness, and at first frequent their company only for the sake of their pleasing conversation or their literary accomplishments.

And he may think that his faith proof against their infidelity, but he will soon find by means of their speeches his faith weakened.

And when once he gets under the empire of doubt, unbelief will soon prevail.

His bad company will corrupt his good morals.

How many of you have children?

Have you ever been in a situation where you're concerned about your son and daughter because of the person they're hanging around with?

Have you said to them what I'm saying to you?

Son, be careful.

Bad company corrupts good morals, and they just look at you like, get a life, mom.

You know what I'm telling you is true.

The concern that you have for your children because you want them to be godly, you want them to be wise in their decisions.

If it's good counsel for the kids, it's good counsel for mom and dad as well.

2 Timothy 3, 1 through 5.

But know this in the last days perilous times will come, for men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemiers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers without self control, brutal despisers of good.

Traitors, headstrong, haughty lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God having a form of godliness, but denying its power from such people turn away.

But God, aren't we supposed to love everybody?

Well, of course.

But not everybody puts their feet under your table.

Be discerning.

Is the person that I'm allowing to come into my life going to benefit my life and cause me to be a better follower of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Are they bringing something to me that will strengthen me, that will nurture me?

If not, continue to share your life with them.

Continue to invite them to church.

Do not allow them to put their feet under your table.

In the New Living Translation, it reads this way They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly.

Stay away from such people.

I don't need an interpretation.

Do not be deceived.

Bad company will corrupt good morals.

The carnal mind.

You remember reading about that in the scripture.

The carnal what is a carnal mind?

A carnal mind.

Well, let me read to you Romans 8, 5 through 8.

For those who live according to the flesh, they have their minds on things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit, the things of the spirit.

For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, nor can it be.

So then those who are in the flesh, they cannot please God.

This is a struggle for those who love Jesus.

Is this a struggle for you?

It's like I think of what the Apostle Paul said in the book of Romans, the things that I want to do, I'm so resistive.

I know the things that I should not do, and I seem to be drawn so strongly to those things.

He uses very strong language.

He says, Oh, wretched man that I am, who will deliver me?

And he answers his question: the Lord Jesus Christ.

If we are going to be honest with ourselves in regard to spiritual warfare, if we're going to acknowledge the truth that there is a real enemy who hates us because we are image bearers, then we've got to be very, very careful about where our mind is.

What does it mean to be carnally minded?

You know, if I just work ten extra hours and I get time and a half, I can pay off that bill.

Is it possible that that's carnal?

Because your wife is at home with the children, feeling neglected, married to a husband who is a workaholic, and when he comes home, he's so tired that they cannot have quality time together.

Would that be carnally minded?

Is it carnally minded because you're not getting what you need from your spouse to try to get it somewhere else with pornography or masturbation?

Would that be carnally minded?

I've eaten until I'm full, but it tastes so good, I'm going to eat some more.

Would that be considered carnally minded?

We are Christians.

We deal with the realities of life.

The only people who are not tempted are dead, my brother and sister.

I deal with temptation.

I know that surprises you because we're not speakers are not supposed to deal with temptation.

We're above all of that.

Absolutely not true.

You know, I can say this.

Steve isn't here, his wife is.

I hope she'll forgive me, but do you know your pastor deals with temptation?

He's vitally alive.

The carnal mind.

Once you were alienated from God and you were enemies in your minds because of your evil desires, Colossians 2.11.

If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear me.

Psalm 66.

If we confess our sin, He is faithful, He is just, He will forgive us and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Two incredibly steps in that scripture.

Step number one, I will forgive you.

Instantaneous.

Step number two, I will cleanse you.

Process.

Instant forgiveness, process of cleansing.

You don't renew your mind in a moment.

You can't fix in a moment what a decade has created.

When we have realized that, oh my goodness, we have been snagged.

We grabbed the bait, we bit on the lure, I cannot believe I've done it again.

Thank God He loves you.

You can come boldly into His presence and say, God, it's me.

Again, please forgive me.

I forgive you, daughter.

I forgive you, son.

Now let's continue the process of cleansing.

Let's continue the process of cleansing.

The transformed mind is a process.

When I accepted Christ in 1969, all of the addictions were broken, which is unusual.

No more sex outside of marriage, no more porn, no more masturbation, no more rum soak crook cigars, which are so nasty, no more alcohol.

Every addiction that held me in bondage was broken, but I had anger issues that you cannot believe.

I had insecurity issues that were monumental.

Self-esteem issues, huge.

I was still incredibly broken, even though I was genuinely born again.

My mind needed to be renewed.

I've been in that process for 53 years.

53 years.

He's still working.

I'm not done yet.

Romans 12, 1 through 2, in the amplified clastic, I appeal to you therefore, brethren, and I beg you, in view of all the mercies of God, to make a decision, a decisive dedication of your bodies, presenting all of your members and faculties as a living sacrifice, holy, devoted, consecrated, and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable, rational, intelligent service and spiritual worship.

Do not be conformed to the world this age, fashioned after and adapted to its external, superficial customs, but be transformed, changed by the entire renewing of your mind by its ideals and its attitudes, so that you may prove for yourselves what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God, even the thing which is good and acceptable and perfect in His sight for you.

Process.

Cleanse me, Lord, process.

Don't get impatient with the process.

In the process, you will fall.

In the book of Proverbs is a righteous man falls seven times, but he just keeps getting up.

In the process of your renewing, when you grab the lure, understand that the Father waits lovingly, eagerly to wash you with the blood of Jesus.

Understand that you don't go all the way back to the beginning.

You just pick up where you left off in the process.

God will renew your mind.

He will change how you think.

With your children.

Don't give up on yourself and don't give up on others.

The only people who lose are the people who step out of the process.

You know some of those people, even as I do.

Ephesians 4, 22 through 24.

We were taught with regard to our former way of life to put off the old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires, and to be made new in the attitude of our minds, and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

Repeat after me, please.

Put off, put on.

That's the secret.

How do we allow our minds to be renewed?

What is the process?

What does it look like?

Revelation 12, 11, key verse, key verse, they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.

Word, spoken word.

In psychology, we call it self-talk.

I don't know who coined that phrase, some mental health guru who knows when, but it's in the scripture, repeatedly in the scripture.

If you are dealing with habitual things, if there are things in your life that you are desperate to say, God, please take it, please take it verbally, in a voice that you can hear in the name of the authority of Jesus, I renounce that lustful thought.

Don't hide it, don't bury it, don't pretend like it's not there.

Name it.

Name it.

I put it off.

If you didn't hear your words, nothing happened.

Nothing.

They didn't overcome the power of the enemy by getting a stronger mental grip.

They overcame him by using their voice and speaking the truth that is in the Word of God.

That's how they overcame.

So in the name of Jesus, I renounce this anger.

And I put on.

Allow the Spirit of God to give you specific verses that you can begin to memorize, that you can begin to quote, so that you can allow that renewing of your mind to take place.

I would also encourage you to do PBJ, prayer, Bible, and journal.

Again, remember who this is.

You are the temple of the Holy Spirit.

He indwells you as a believer in Jesus Christ.

In spite of your garbage, in spite of your trials and your temptations, the Spirit of God is there, and He loves you so much He will never ever be quiet.

The best way that I know to develop a hearing ear is prayer, Bible, and journal.

You've all experienced it.

You're reading the scripture, your attention is drawn to a particular verse.

Stop.

That's the Holy Spirit.

Can I talk to you?

Pull out your journal, write that verse out word for word.

Pray, Holy Spirit, what do you want to say to me?

He will always be faithful to impress his words on your mind.

Write them out word for word.

Go back, read the verse.

Read what the Lord spoke to your heart.

Always conclude with a written prayer response.

Now, here's the reason for the written response.

It's very rude to answer someone when they're talking to you.

I have a stack of journals.

From time to time, I just pull one off the shelf, open it randomly, and read about a supernatural encounter I had with the living Christ.

And I am always surprised at the emotion that rises up inside of me.

If it isn't experiential, it doesn't transform.

Do you understand what I'm saying?

If it isn't experiential, it doesn't nourish.

It doesn't strengthen, it doesn't transform.

Sunday mornings are great.

Love Sunday mornings.

But Sunday mornings are not necessarily transformational.

They are encouraging.

But they don't take the place of your small group.

They don't take the place of your personal devotions.

They do not take the place of the Spirit of God who desires to speak to you every single day about everything that concerns you, regardless of its size.

Lastly, and I'll ask the worship team to come up.

Are you familiar with the term G-I-G-O?

Garbage in, garbage out?

Linda, my wife, Linda, would you stand?

Patient, 46 years of marriage, and my best friend.

Let's give it up.

Yeah.

She used to work at a junior high school, and I'll never forget I walked into the cafeteria, and all along the ceiling was a wide banner with all kinds of animals on it, with the words, you are what you eat.

You are what you eat, garbage in, garbage out.

We take in through our eyes, our eye gate, our ear gate, the things that we experience.

What are you allowing to come into your life that creates garbage?

I know you all are.

We are all tempted.

Watch that movie.

I can only listen to so much news without feeling polluted.

I can only listen to so much.

I find it difficult to find anything I can watch on TV because even though the presentation may be good, the commercial coming afterward grieves my heart.

The older I am, and I'm older than I've ever been in my life, this scripture means more to me today than at any other time.

Philippians 4.8.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think on these things.

I am coming before the Lord with this scripture and saying, God, what are the things that I'm thinking about that violate this scripture?

I want you to convict me.

I don't want to just fall across the finish line.

I want to bust the tape.

I want to say, as the Apostle Paul did, follow me as I follow Christ, knowing that if you do, you will be so glad that you did.

I want to be the example to my five children, my 16 grandchildren, great grands to come, should the Lord tarry.

I want to create a legacy unlike the legacy that was given to me.

How about you?

I do not want my children, my grandchildren to ever experience the pain that I experienced, the brokenness that I went through as a child because of the home that I came out of?

Is there anything that I'm allowing my eyes to see?

Is there anything I'm allowing my ears to hear that violates the word of God?

Convict me, Holy Spirit, to the point of meaningful abandonment and change.

Garbage in, garbage out.

2 Peter 3:1, dear friends, this is now my second letter to you.

2 Peter 3:1

I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking.

The battlefield of the mind is where it starts.

The victory in regard to spiritual warfare is in the coconut.

One last quote from Marcus Luttrell.

He's a retired United States Navy SEAL.

He received the Navy Cross and the Purple Heart for his actions in June 2005 against Taliban fighters during Operation Red Wings, in which he was the only living survivor.

He said, the real battle is won in the mind.

It's won by guys who understand their areas of weakness, who sit and think about it, plotting and planning to improve, attending to the detail, working on their weaknesses and overcoming them because they can.

Who is in you?

Who is in you?

Tell me.

Who is in you?

Who is in you?

Who will strengthen you?

Who will encourage you?

Who will guide you?

Who will watch over you?

Who is it that is your greatest ally in the battle of the mind?

It is the Holy Spirit of God.

Pay attention.

Do not grieve him as in times past.

Stay in step.

Hey, thanks for listening to the Road Podcast.

It's been my joy to be a part of your life today.

And you know, that's part of what we do here at The Road, and this is what I do in having this Road Podcast is to empower people to change their world.

My passion and desire is that you would take God's word through the power of the Holy Spirit and make that relevant for your life.

You know, the reality is that God has placed your life here on this earth to make a difference.

And if you'd like more information about how to grow in Christ, if you need prayer, if you want more equipping in different areas of your life, go to thero.org.

God bless you.