Session 2 - Beth Moore (part 2)

Okay, so our minds are amazing. And we have the ability to change them. The Bible says that we have to be renewed by the transforming of our minds. This doesn't come easily and naturally. You have to work at it.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 says, "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."

The transformation of our minds is not just going to happen. It is a battle we have to fight and we have to fight it deliberately. We have divine power to demolish strongholds, we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ - another way of saying renewing the mind.

If we reflect and look at what our lives would really be like if we gave our lives fully to Christ - it goes all the way back to the garden in Genesis. We somehow got into our heads that God is trying to cheat us, that we would be freer if we were out from under his control. We think he is about limiting us and taking from us. And we don't even begin to understand that he says - this is where life is beyond your imagination - when you bring your thoughts to me. Not to captivate them, but to give them a focus. To tell you, "this is your direction. This is what you were meant to do."

A stronghold is anything that gets a strong hold on your mind. It has mastery over you. It can be an addiction, greed, pride, forgiveness, lust, insecurity, jealousy, rejection, etc.

Ephesians 4:17-19 says, "So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more."

This is basically the New Testament definition of addiction. They had given themselves over...with a continual lust for more.

Our temptation is to think, "I just want to manage it (my stronghold or addiction), I can handle it." But the nature of addictions that it only calls for more and more and more and then the old thing that used to cut it for us no longer works. It then takes over and has a strong hold on us. A stronghold is anything that is pretending to have more power than God. It has exalted itself over your life.

2 Timothy 2:26 says, "and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will."

The devil really does exist. The enemy has a plot to destroy God's will for your life. Anything he can do. God has a will for your life, and Satan has a will for your life. And both continually call for more. More and more for the spirit of Christ, or more and more bondage. But we will never be able to maintain where we are. That's not how the mind works. You are constantly moving in one direction or the other.

Okay, so is it really possible to live in mental victory? To live without any strongholds?

Psalm 119:133 says, "direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me."

Sanctification (the process of being more like Christ) is an ongoing process. We are fully capable of living life completely victoriously. There is enough power in Christ that we can walk without any kind of sin having dominion over us.

1 Corinthians 6:12 says, "everything is permissible for me - but I will not be mastered by anything." Nothing in this world will have mastery over me. Like Louie had talked about in his talk the night before - we have to chain our lives to Christ. If he is truly our master, nothing else can be.

If we're really going to do what God has called us to do in our lives - it is really going to take some focus on Him. There have always been challenges, there will always be distractions. You have to let distractions go, and zero in on God. If you want a mind for God, if you want to be anointed by His power to do what you could not possibly do on your own - we've got to be able to frequently let go of everything else. To shut the door to every single pipe that is trying to get to us, and have our minds renewed before God. He doesn't yell. He speaks in a small still voice and we are desperate to hear it.

Psalm 27:4 says, "One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to see him in his temple."

We have so many distractions. It is scary to think that the greatest minds in the world, the greatest minds of our generation may not make an impact because the mind has not been renewed enough to completely get God's will. One thing - God is a jealous God. He wants to be our one thing. Shut off every other thing to hear the Lord and do just one thing.

It's never been harder to do just one thing. Are we willing to work the mind that God has given us? Not to just watch something, but to read. And read a lot. And with all the capacity we have in our minds - to take captive the thoughts of Christ. Memorize scripture. Memorize chapters of scripture. Memorize whole books of the Bible. You're brain has the capacity to do it! And when it is in your head, you will see results in your actions. Your life will be renewed by the thoughts of Christ.

Luke 2:18-19 says, "and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart."

Mary treasured the things that she heard from Jesus and pondered them in her heart. Everyone else was amazed, but Mary actually took the time to think things through. We can come together and be amazed. The conference was amazing. But it is pointless if we walk away just amazed. We need it to change our lives. The change comes when we don't stop at amazement, but we think it through. If we shut it down and do the next thing, we're going to miss what God has for us. Don't just be amazed. Think things through. For just one thing.