My Thought Life, Satan s Playground: Time to Change my Thinking Sunday, March 26, 2017

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1 My Thought Life, Satan s Playground: Time to Change my Thinking Sunday, March 26, 2017 Rom. 12:1-2(NLT)- And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. 2 Don t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Satan operates in the arena of thought. If he cannot control and influence your thought life, he cannot dominate you. I was the life of the party and could put on a front for my friends-but inside I lived with an uneasiness and my mind was tormented with thoughts of inadequacy and fear more than thoughts of joy and hope. Satan operates in the arena of thought. If he cannot control and influence your thought life, he cannot dominate you. --- John 8:31-32(NKJV)- 31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free The truth will set you free! -- John 17:17(NKJV)- 17 Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth - John 8:32 doesn t say the truth sets you free. It says, the truth you know sets you free.

2 I was saved but enslaved 1 Thess. 5:23(NLT)- Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again. I am spirit; I possess a soul (mind, will and emotions) and I live in a body. Ezekiel 36:26-27(NLT)- And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations. I am spirit; I possess a soul (mind, will and emotions) and I live in a body Our body/flesh is not saved. It has carnal desires of selfishness, lust and revenge Rom. 8:13(NIV)- For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live My spirit has been transformed and desires the things of God; my flesh has not been transformed and its selfish and lustful. The mediator between the two is my soul!

3 ---- What is my soul? Our soul contains our personality-we all have different personalities. Our soul contains our emotions- we also call them our feelings. Our soul contains our will- our will is our power to make decisions; our power to change (will power) Genesis 2:7(KJV)- And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. The soul was the natural life that took place when the spirit and the flesh came together. The soul of man is the intermediary, or mediator, between the body and the spirit. Our spirit receives input from God: Rom. 8:16(NKJV)- The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God Our bodies receives input from the world: Our soul stands between the two The reason so many Christians are saved but enslaved is because they have a redeemed, transformed heart in a fleshly, unredeemed body and there is a constant war between the two.

4 - Philippians 4:6-7(NIV)- Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus Philippians 4:8(NIV)- Finally, brothers and sisters, 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 about such things you have one final thing to do after you pray, you must think correctly -- Philippians 4:6-8(NIV)- Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, 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 about such things. - Rom. 12:2 (NKJV). 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. -- The word metamorphosis means a complete change in form. - The caterpillar spins a cocoon, puts himself in an uncomfortable circumstance for a while, and then through the process of time, he is changed completely. He becomes totally different. He is transformed

5 and leaves his cocoon as a butterfly. -- The Renewing of My Mind --- Rom. 12:2 (NKJV). 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Eph. 4:22-23(NKJV)- that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. What does it mean to renew our minds? --- Renewing means to change or exchange. To renew does not mean to learn more, educate or add to. It means to change or exchange. --- It is taking out the old thoughts and old attitudes, removing the old and gaining a new way of thinking. --- Steps to Renewing Our Minds 1). Take Responsibility When we blame someone else for our life condition, we are powerless to determine our own destiny. When we blame others for our condition we sentence ourselves to a life of maintenance, never moving forward.

6 Philippians 1:6(NLT)- And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns If Christ started a work in us -he will finish the work, unless we surrender rule and reign of our lives to other s actions and words. 2). Reject Unhealthy Thoughts 2 Cor. 10:4-5(NKJV)- For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 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 day we are ensnared in a spiritual warfare for the dominion of our thought life. - According to the National Science Foundation-the average human brain averages between 50,000 and 70,000 thoughts a day. Over 90% of those thoughts are repetitive. - Hearing critical accusations all day every day, quickly becomes a pattern of thinking that imprints on our subconscious. It then becomes the filter through which we view life. Then when others give us a compliment or speak a word of encouragement to us it never penetrates, we can t hear it or receive. - To renew our minds with the word of God we must take our ungodly, unhealthy thoughts captive. 3). Replace Unhealthy Thoughts with Godly, Affirming Thoughts

7 Philippians 4:8(NIV)- 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, 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 about such things. The greatest need in the body of Christ is for Christians to get their minds renewed with the word of God. Renewing our minds is not an event, it is an exercise, a discipline that we must practice daily. Scriptural memorization is an effective way to bring our minds under subjection to the word of God. 4). Repeat God s Word Continually --- Psalm 45:1(NKJV)- My heart is overflowing with a good theme; I recite my composition concerning the King; My tongue is the pen of a ready writer Matt. 12:34-37(NKJV)- Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. --- Prov. 18:21(NKJV)- Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.