Tag: thoughts

Speaking the Word of God: Over Your Temptations

The greatest example of speaking the Word of God over our temptations is found in Matthew 4. When Jesus was taken into the Wilderness after fasting forty days and nights he was hungry and then it says the tempter came. The enemy was questioning Jesus and who He was. I want to stop there and elaborate on one of the enemy’s tactics. The enemy will always question our authority in Christ. He knows us, our weaknesses and in those moments of temptation we must ask ourself what are we going to do and who are we going to?

We Must Realize the Problem:

The enemy’s goal is nothing more than to steal, kill, and destroy you. That’s it, however, he can find a way. It all starts with a temptation.

We Must Know the Solution:

We read in Matthew 4 that with every temptation that was presented to Christ, He always came back with the Word of God, spoken to the enemy. The solution to every temptation is to speak the Word of God and declare it!

  • Our words have power

Proverbs 18:21

21  “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits.”

ESV

(Christians who constantly talk doubt, in effect, talk “death.” Those who speak the Word of God speak “Life“) – Jimmy Swaggart Crossfire Bible ©

What we speak determines the outcome, are you speaking life into that situation? Submitting to God when a temptation arises?

James 4:7

Submit to God, resist the enemy and he will flee from you.

ESV

We Must Remember the Promise

God says His Word will accomplish, succeed in the thing, in the temptation, in the season that you are in and will not return empty! When you speak God’s word in that temptation that same power goes with it! That’s the Promise that the child of God has!

Isaiah 55:10-11

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

ESV

Speaking the Word of God: Over Your Thoughts

Daily we have battles of thoughts of you’re not good enough, you’ll never see your healing, you’ll never get deliverance, you might as well give up! These thoughts are not of God but of Satan. So what do we do? how do we combat it? First, we must realize that these thoughts obviously start in the mind, that is where the battle is fought. But guess what, the battle is already won! Jesus Christ has defeated Death, Hell & the Grave and He gave us His Word that is sharper than any two-edged sword that when it is spoken demons tremble and flee!

We must realize

2 Corinthians 10:3-4

3 “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds” – ESV

  • The mind is the battlefield!

Question: When you have that thought that is contrary to the Word of God, what are we to do? Are we being passive? Are you speaking the truth of the Word against it? 

2 Corinthians 10:5

5 “We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ” – ESV

The Problem

The enemy knows that if we give into a thought, those arguments about ourselves and we don’t take it captive, then that thought, that argument we can begin to contemplate and it will become a stronghold.

Examples:

We begin to believe the lie that God doesn’t love us,
We begin to believe the lie that I’ve gone too far.
We can believe the lie that my disease, sickness is incurable.
We can believe the lie that the situation I’m in is only going to get worse.
We believe the lie that living for God isn’t worth it.

The Solution

You must see yourself as God sees you!

If Jesus Christ is Lord over your life then you are a new creation! You are not the same person before you gave your life to Him!

Remember

Why is it so important to cast down arguments, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God? 

Romans 8:6

“For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace”

This is the very thing that the enemy did in Heaven, he wanted to be God, he wanted to take control, and the same goes for us when we start to have thoughts that are contrary to the Word of God, thoughts of ungodliness, of power, what is going to start happening? 

James 1:15

“Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.”

We have a Promise!

Isaiah 26: 3 

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”

God will not leave you where you’re at keep trusting! Keep persevering!

Your Thoughts Matter

There is one mission, one priority that the enemy aims to do — destroy our fellowship with the Lord. He did this in the beginning when Eve believed the lie and at times we fall victim.

So we know the enemy doesn’t come to us with a pitchfork or as some other mythical creature. We know he is real and his mission is never going to change. So how do we not fall into sin? How do we not believe those lies that Eve fell for? How did they all start? Our thoughts.

THE WAR AGAINST THOUGHTS OF SIN AND STRONGHOLDS ARE FOUGHT IN OUR MIND.

The question to ask ourselves is what type of thoughts are we letting in?

Here is what we should think about:

PHILIPPIANS 4:8 “FINALLY, BROTHERS, WHATEVER IS TRUE, WHATEVER IS HONORABLE, WHATEVER IS JUST, WHATEVER IS PURE, WHATEVER IS LOVELY, WHATEVER IS COMMENDABLE, IF THERE IS ANY EXCELLENCE, IF THERE IS ANYTHING WORTHY OF PRAISE, THINK ABOUT THESE THINGS.’

We may think, “But why is it so hard to focus on whatever is pure, or honorable, or etc?.”

  • If we are watching TV programs that you know you shouldn’t be watching.
  • If we are socializing more with unbelievers than believers.

2 CORINTHIANS 2:15 “TAKE EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE TO THE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST.”

Are we truly taking every thought captive? Do we filter our thoughts?

We may think — it’s just one look
We may think — it’s just one more drink
We may think — It’s just one more hit
We may think — it’s just one more, one more.

What we may think is small in the beginning, can wreak havoc in our walk with God now or later on.

Galatians 6:8 “For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

REFLECT// Ask Holy Spirit to search your heart, your mind, what am I thinking on? What do I need to do different? Remember that thoughts can change your life.

In Him: No Condemnation

What is Condemnation? An overwhelming sense of shame that comes from the pits of hell. 

What does the Word God say about this?

ROMANS 8:1-4

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. 

On this one verse lays the whole of the great sinners hope. In Christ and in Christ alone there is forgiveness and freedom from the condemnation of sin. It promises that there is NO condemnation. NONE AT ALL. It doesn’t say less condemnation. It says none. He will never bring up our sinful past again. It is dead and gone. It had been crucified and buried. All of our mess, mistakes, our sin was condemned at the cross.

Why is there NOW no condemnation? Because the thing that brought condemnation — the law of sin and death, has been broken off our lives, Jesus took on all the condemnation at the Cross!

2 Corinthians 5:21

“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

  • The enemy will always remind us of our past, to weaken our confidence, our standing in Christ. But those moments are dead, they no longer speak. 

But one thing that does speak and holds true to its promises is the blood of Jesus!

Reflect ///

  • When the enemy begins to flood your mind with past hurts, sins. Remind him who you are in Christ, that you are forgiven! set free!