HOW TO WIN THE WAR FOR YOUR MIND

By Frank Eiklor and Cecilia Contreras

LESSON 30 Part 1

INTRODUCTION

The title of this lesson makes it obvious that it is one of the most important subjects we will offer you. The war for your mind never ends. You must learn how to fight this battle—and win by the power of God. This lesson will come in three parts. A ten-question test will follow Part 3.

NO EASY ROAD

Pity the new Christian who, after being led to Christ, is told, “Now that you’ve accepted the Lord, your road will be much easier and your battles are over.”

What happens after that is so shocking it almost makes me tremble. The poor person is hit by temptations from every direction and, as the years go by, instead of things getting easier, he finds such a tremendous war going on in his mind that he begins to doubt whether he has ever really known the Lord.

CASE IN POINT

Let me give some specifics. A Christian young man is ready to commit suicide because he is so bombarded with lustful thoughts that he believes himself to be abnormal. A Christian businessman faces temptation and even open seduction from a woman in his office. He wonders if he can endure and remain true to his wife. A normally meek and mild Christian woman has temper tantrums and even fits of rage that leave her wondering if she ever knew the Lord. Another Christian is obsessed with fears of death, while still another has a terrifying fear of cancer.

The list of battles goes on. A Christian couple is so tormented by insecurity concerning the future, that they wonder how they could even be Christians. “After all,” they reason, “shouldn’t a Christian automatically be filled with trust?” A lovely Christian lady calls my wife and me to inform us that after twenty-five years of marriage, her husband, himself a Christian, wants a divorce in order to marry another woman. Still another newly married Christian calls to tearfully report that her husband, who also believes in Jesus, has just lost his temper and struck her.

Am I overwhelming you? There’s more. A Christian couple gets so heavily in debt that the authorities threaten to evict them from their apartment because of failure to pay their rent. A Christian teenager is a singer in the church choir and fornicator outside the church. He hates himself for his lust but feels powerless to stop.

“MIRACLES” THAT DECEIVE

Then there’s the other side of the coin—not the Christians doing these things and weeping powerlessly in remorse—but those who have been openly deceived and think they’re in the right.

Like the minister—a married man—who grew dependent toward a beautiful young worker in the church. She admired his “spirituality” and soon the two shared prayer times together. That evolved into a sharing of souls—including unmet needs that each seemed to understand. Hugs followed in those private sessions, the embraces grew long, and soon…he and the other woman walked into the trap, the rope tightened and another scandal became a statistic to be used and laughed at by the world.

THE WAR FOR YOUR MIND

Someone has said that, while God owns the hearts of those who are genuine Christians, he owns very few of our minds. Sadly, this is true. There is a war going on for the minds of God’s people and none of us are exempt. Your mind is what controls you, so whoever owns your mind owns you. Two invisible persons are after your mind—one who wishes to control you with love and goodness, and another who wishes to overwhelm you with hatred, bitterness, lust or whatever can come through your weakest door.

Obviously, these two personalities are the Holy Spirit and Satan. Let’s take Satan for a moment. He is a real antagonist—and you’re the target. Fact is—there is a real Satan and he doesn’t like you. In fact, he’s out to destroy you. To do that, he discovers your weakness and goes to work on your mind. It’s that simple, and it’s deadly effective. He has a book of tricks that he has perfected for some six thousand years and your name is in his little book. He’s memorized your habits and weaknesses.

Thank God, your name is also in the Book of Life and you cannot only wage war against Satan—you can win the battle every time. The Christian who knows how to control his mind through the power of the Holy Spirit can resist Satan and watch him flee: “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)

TEMPLES FOR THE HOLY SPIRIT

This study is prepared to help you win this war. We won’t cover more theory on positive or negative thinking—there’s much good material on that. Instead, I want to help you learn how to submit to the infilling of your dearest companion, the Holy Spirit. Through Him I’m learning to resist the subtle hints and aggressive assaults that Satan wages against me in the battle for my mind. So can you. This evil genius would like you and me to be more statistics in the number of Christians surrendering to weakness, frustration, defeat, jealousy, resentment, hatred, lust, etc. On the other hand, the Holy Spirit wills that you and I walk on the high road of victory as the King’s children—with our minds as instruments for the Holy Spirit to use rather than computers for Satan to fill with unholy garbage.

PLANTING TIME

The main battle ground for the believer is the mind. It’s the first area where the Holy Spirit plants His positive thoughts, ideas and plans. It is an amazing built-in computer. It is also Satan’s first area of attack. All Christians are harassed by satanic darts hurled at the mind. The victorious person is one who learns to quench these darts (Ephesians 6:16) and turn his mind into a fertile field of constantly blossoming positive and creative thoughts.

What I appreciate in this battle for the mind is that we Christians start from victory. II Timothy 1:7 is explosive. “For God hash not given us the spirit of fear; but of power and of love, and of a sound mind.” Since a Christian has the mind of Christ (which is pure and positive), he does not have to struggle to work into victory—he starts from victory as he learns to discipline his thought life and be transformed daily by the renewing of his mind (Romans 12:1-2)

Proverbs 3:5-6 states, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” That word “all” means total surrender to the will of God and His lordship over you. It means your humanity has been invaded by His deity and He’s now in total charge. The words “own understanding” do not mean we throw away common sense, but that we do not lean or put our weight on our own human intellect, no matter how smart ore experienced we are. (Proverbs 28:26 states that, “He that trusts in his own heart is a fool…”) Note also that the Lord will direct all of our paths. The word “paths” is not singular but plural. I like that. It means that each day reveals a new and singular path that we walk with God. “Paths” will also mean that every place we walk that day, and every decision we plan and execute, can be directed by the Lord.

(END OF PART 1—TO BE CONTINUED)