THE BATTLE WITHIN – Winning the War for Your Mind

WEEK 2 — THE BATTLEGROUND

2 Corinthians 10:3–5

3 “For although we live in the flesh, we do not wage war according to the flesh,
4 since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments
5 and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

INTRODUCTION — THE BATTLEGROUND

Last week, we looked at the walls of Jericho and learned three important truths about the battles we face: Not by our strength—but God’s. Not by our ideas—but God’s instructions. Not for our glory—but God’s. Jericho reminded us that the battle must be fought in dependence upon God.

This week, I want us to move from how we fight the battle to where many of our battles are fought. Paul tells us that although we live in the flesh, the warfare we are engaged in cannot be fought merely with physical or human weapons. There is a spiritual battle taking place, and one of its primary battlegrounds is our mind.

Think about how many battles begin with a thought. Fear begins telling us what might happen. Worry keeps rehearsing what could go wrong. Temptation tells us something will satisfy us. Discouragement tells us nothing will ever change. Our past tells us we can never move forward. Doubt causes us to question what God has said. Before these things affect our actions, they often begin by affecting our thinking.

Last week, Jericho had physical walls that needed to come down. In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul talks about strongholds that need to come down in our thinking. A stronghold can develop when something contrary to God’s truth is allowed to establish itself in our minds. Paul tells us that God’s weapons are powerful enough to demolish those strongholds and that our thoughts must be brought under the authority of Christ.

So if we’re going to win The Battle Within, we need to learn what to do with the thoughts that enter our minds.

TAKEAWAY 1

RECOGNIZE WHERE THE BATTLE IS TAKING PLACE.

2 Corinthians 10:4–5

“Since the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God…”

BIBLE NOTES

Paul describes a battle involving arguments, ideas, and anything that raises itself against the knowledge of God. That tells us that spiritual warfare isn’t only about what happens around us; it also involves what we allow to take place within our thinking. One of the most dangerous things we can do is assume that because a thought entered our mind, it must be true. Our thoughts can be influenced by our flesh, our fears, our experiences, the world around us, and spiritual deception. That is why our thoughts must always be measured against the truth of God’s Word.

This is especially important because a thought can influence much more than the moment in which we think it. A fearful thought that we continually entertain can eventually affect how we live. A lie that we repeatedly tell ourselves can eventually become something we believe. A temptation that we continue thinking about can eventually become an action. The battle often begins long before anyone else can see it. It begins in the mind.

Before we can fight the battle, we have to recognize where the battle is taking place. When fear, worry, temptation, anger, doubt, or discouragement enters our thinking, we need to stop and ask, “Where did this thought come from, and does it agree with what God says?”

APPLICATION

Don’t believe every thought just because it entered your mind.

TAKEAWAY 2

IDENTIFY ANY LIES AND REPLACE IT WITH TRUTH.

Romans 12:2

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

BIBLE NOTES

Paul tells us that transformation happens through the renewing of our minds. God doesn’t simply want us to recognize wrong thinking; He wants our thinking to be changed by His truth. That means winning the battle for our minds requires more than trying not to think about something. We need to identify what is false and replace it with what God has said.

This strategy can be seen all the way back in Genesis 3. When Satan approached Eve, he began by questioning God’s Word: “Did God really say…?” The attack was aimed at what she believed about God and what God had said. Satan wanted her to question God’s truth before he tempted her to disobey it. The battle over her actions began with a battle over what she would believe.

Jesus gives us the opposite example when Satan tempted Him in Matthew 4. Each time Satan tempted Jesus, Jesus answered with the truth of Scripture: “It is written…” Jesus responded to temptation with God’s Word. That gives us a powerful pattern for the battle within. When fear says, “God has forgotten you,” answer it with God’s truth. When worry says, “God isn’t going to provide,” answer it with God’s truth. When temptation says, “This won’t hurt anything,” answer it with God’s truth. Don’t simply recognize the lie. Replace the lie with truth.

APPLICATION

When a lie enters your mind, answer it with what God says.

TAKEAWAY 3

TAKE THE THOUGHT CAPTIVE BEFORE THE THOUGHT TAKES YOU CAPTIVE.

2 Corinthians 10:5

“We demolish arguments and every proud thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

BIBLE NOTES

Paul doesn’t tell us simply to ignore our thoughts. He tells us to take them captive. The picture is of bringing something under control and making it submit to the authority of Christ. In other words, we don’t allow every thought that enters our minds to remain there unchecked. We examine it and ask whether it agrees with Christ and His Word. If it doesn’t, we refuse to allow that thought to control our thinking.

This is important because thoughts that aren’t dealt with can grow. A thought can become something we dwell on. What we dwell on can become something we believe. What we believe can begin affecting our emotions, choices, and actions. Eventually, something that started as a thought can become a stronghold that begins controlling us. That is why Paul doesn’t tell us to wait until the thought has taken control. Take it captive now.

Taking a thought captive means we stop allowing the thought to have unrestricted access to our minds. We bring it before the truth of God’s Word. We ask, “Is this true? Does this agree with what God says? Does this thought lead me toward obedience to Christ?” If the answer is no, then that thought doesn’t deserve a permanent place in our minds.

APPLICATION

Take the thought captive before the thought takes you captive.

CLOSING CHALLENGE

Last week, we stood with Israel outside the walls of Jericho and learned that some walls only come down through God’s power.

This week, the wall may not be standing in front of you.

It may be standing inside your mind.

Maybe it is a wall built from years of fear. Maybe worry has controlled your thinking. Maybe you’ve believed a lie about yourself, your circumstances, your future, or even about God. Maybe temptation has occupied your thoughts so long that it has begun controlling your actions.

Paul tells us that these strongholds can come down. Not because our minds are strong enough, but because “the weapons of our warfare…are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds.”

So this week:

Recognize the battle.

Replace the lie with truth.

Take the thought captive.

And remember the connection to Jericho:

Last week, God brought down the walls around Jericho. This week, we’re asking Him to bring down the walls that have been built in our minds.

CLOSING THOUGHT

You cannot always control what thought enters your mind, but you can decide whether that thought gets to stay, what truth you will believe, and whether your thinking will submit to Christ.