Welcome to the blog of Pastor Alton Stone, from Simpsonville, SC. Pastor Stone is a retired Ordained Bishop of The Church of God, Cleveland, Tennessee with over 45 years of pastoral ministry.

Monday, September 11, 2017

The Battlefield And The Victory (Part 4)

Paul told the Corinthians, “But we have the mind of Christ, the Messiah, and do hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart” in 1 Corinthians 2:16, AMP. 

God has planned that believers be transformed into Christ’s image according to Romans 8:29 and this transformation takes place by the renewing of your mind as written in Romans 12:2 and 2 Corinthians 3:18.

As you fill your mind with the Word of God, you are being transformed into His image. As your mind, will, desires, and purposes are renewed, you become governed by the Holy Spirit and begin to manifest this in your thoughts, emotions, and conduct.

Paul wrote in Ephesians  4:23, 24 to be constantly renewed in the spirit of their minds:

"And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."

God has planned that your mind be filled with revelation knowledge so that you will be able to comprehend the riches of your inheritance and the power you possess as a child of God.   

Paul prayed in Ephesians 1:17-19 AMP that God would give the Ephesians the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of Christ:


“That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him by having the eyes of your heart flooded with light so that you can know and understand the hope to which He has called you and how rich is His glorious inheritance in the saints – His set-apart ones. And (so that you can know and understand) what is the immeasurable and unlimited and surpassing greatness of His power in and for us who believe, as demonstrated in the working of His mighty strength." 

God has planned that you have a strong mind with the ability to control every thought, imagination, desire, and emotion, and through the spiritual weapons He has provided you bring them into conformity to the will of God. Do not settle for anything less than a totally transformed mind.

Remember,
God is calling you to have a sound, well-disciplined mind. Satan, on the other hand, wants you to think you are a helpless victim of negative thinking and that there is nothing you can do to control your thoughts. 

Satan is a liar! He does not have the ability to control your mind. You do not have to accept the thoughts that he tries to plant in your mind. He cannot force you to think evil thoughts. He cannot force you to worry. He cannot force you to be fearful, discouraged, or depressed.

Satan’s power over your mind has been broken. He only has the power to attack your mind when you fail to resist and permit him to have access to it, so “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” according to James 4:7.

Unfortunately, there are some believers who are allowing Satan to have complete access to their minds without putting up any resistance. Not only are they permitting negative, doubting, fearful ideas to enter their minds, they are allowing these thoughts to remain and are continually dwelling upon them. Their excuse is, “I cannot help myself.”  

But you can help yourself! God has made it possible for you to have a one-hundred percent free, one-hundred percent victorious mind--but you must be willing to take aggressive action.  You must recognize Satan’s attacks, resist the ideas he tries to plant in your mind, take authority, and cast out every errant thought  in the Name of Jesus.

Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” The Greek word for sound is "sophronismos", which is an appeal for soundness of mind or self-control.  Paul was encouraging Timothy to develop a strong, sound, well-disciplined mind.  He was instructing Timothy to discipline his mind by taking authority over it and focusing his thoughts on fulfilling the ministry to which God had called him.

Take authority over your mind today.  Fill your mind with thoughts of the vision God has given you and how you will fulfill it.   Focus on your destiny.  Look to the future instead of the past. Refuse to be a victim of the tactics of the enemy in your thought life

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