Hi all,
Last
week I told the stories of 3 people who crucified old ways of thinking
so they could begin thinking new thoughts: The teen who stole from
stores and ran with the wrong crowd, the promiscuous girl trying to fill
the void in her heart thinking each guy she had sex with might be 'the
one', and the corrupt businessman who requested cash payments and then
didn't report the income.
All
3 put their old thoughts to death on their mental cross that they might
take up new life in their thoughts: The teen stopped stealing and broke
his friendships with that crowd in spite of taunts and jeers, the girl
kept relationships pure and focused on knowing her heavenly Father
though now rejected by peers and the boys she'd once slept with, and the
businessman who stopped asking for cash and when paid in cash, reported
it properly while his peers shook their heads not understanding this
sudden 'religion' in his life.
I closed by asking, what if they did not crucify those thoughts?
What
if each person continued their walk with the Lord, but in that one area
of thought in each of their lives, they rejected revelation from God
and stubbornly refused to crucify old thoughts? What if they kept those
old thoughts and protected them instead? Maybe because they liked being
accepted. Maybe because they enjoy the feeling they got from the sin.
Maybe because they believe they won't have any fun if they give it up.
They
are still believers, but the first occasionally steals from stores
and keeps those old friendships while also going to church and Christian
concerts. The young lady loves God, but loves the attention and
temporary high of promiscuous sexual encounters as well, and tells
herself she is more discerning in who she sleeps with now, and the
corrupt businessman, a leader in his community on the outside but with
this one area he refuses to let God influence his thoughts.
When
a person rejects revelation from God in an area to hold onto their own
thoughts, each of these thoughts manifest as occasional actions which
then become regular habits, which then becomes lifestyle, and the person
is then 'past feeling'* in that area - the thought is now a stronghold.
*Ephesians 4:19
How strongholds develop - not crucifying wrong thoughts
There
is a passage in II Corinthians 10:4-5 commonly used in 'spiritual
warfare' teaching, but when used that way is at least in part, in error.
"...we
don't war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are
not fleshly, but powerful to God for bringing down strongholds, reasonings bringing down, and every high thing lifted up against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.." II Corinthians 10:4-5
The
weapons of our warfare are for pulling down mental strongholds which
are reasonings, not about demons. This is how thoughts are crucified.
You pull them down when they lift up against revelation and knowledge of
God's thoughts on the matter.
The
word 'stronghold' means 'fortress' - it is a military term, meaning a
person like the young thief, or promiscuous woman, or corrupt
businessman with ungodly thoughts would guard those thoughts as a
military fort or castle might be defended, arguing or digging in one's
heels to resist other's opinions or ideas.
These
thoughts are strongholds defended by the person, meaning God's thoughts
and everyone else's on the matter are shut out. That is what makes it a
stronghold. There is no reasoning with such a person yet holding onto
their well guarded reasoning means they shut out God in that area, and
others, eventually making themselves an island all alone in their
singular thought in that protected stronghold.
By contrast Romans 12:2 says to "Don't be conformed to this world, but become transformed (Greek: metamorphosis, to undergo a metamorphosis) by the renewing of your mind..."
There
is no other way to grow as a disciple of Christ, for the word disciple
means 'learner'. Learning means examining and accepting new thoughts in
place of old. You want to change your life? Start with killing your old
thoughts and taking up new life in Christ's thoughts - about everything!
Like
the young woman who slept with man after man thinking each might be
'the one' to fill the void in her heart, so too many Christians run to
and fro to this conference and that, looking for 'the one' that will
fill the void in their heart or heal them or heal their family, choosing
to ignore the hard work of actually becoming a disciple and battling
old thoughts with new, taking the old captive and then killing them on
their own cross. Difficult, tortuous even, but that is why the Lord used
the cross as an example. He knows the difficult process, but there is
no other way.
Success against strongholds
For
me it was that I didn't like myself. When my dad left our family when I
was age 11, that rejection hurt all the way to my core. I was
direction-less, searching for a father, for acceptance, for self-worth.
As many children do, I blamed myself at least partially for their
divorce, and hated myself for it.
After
I was born again and baptized with the Holy Spirit I still had this
stronghold of a self-hatred and rejection of myself, and no direction in
life as a result. I just didn't care. About anything.
But
I began doing what the Bible said - renewing my mind and therefore
underwent a transformation in my thinking. Every time a thought of
rejection or hatred would come into my mind I would counter that thought
with another; "I'm no good so not even the Father can use me/Jesus died
for me so of course the Father wants me and can use me for His will."
"I hate myself and feel trapped/The Father loves me unconditionally so
He has to have a plan for me."
And
many other mental battles like that. Those ungodly thoughts did not go
willingly to captivity on their cross - I had to march them down one by
one as each reared its ugly head in my mind, and see to it each died in
the presence of revelation from my Father which revealed each as a liar.
I
had to counter thoughts like that nearly every day, for about a year
before His thoughts became first nature, and I knew I was loved
unconditionally and I could trust Him. I refused the idea of not growing
in Him - I wanted all of Him and the only way to know Him was to think
like Him because He sure wasn't going to start thinking like me.
It
was a similar process forgiving my dad, which I did at age 16, but it
took 10 years before the feelings lined up with my decision. I had read
in Mark 11:25 Jesus said 'When you stand
praying, forgive...' which meant forgiveness is a decision, not a
feeling. So I decided to forgive though I still felt hurt, rejected, and
angry at the injustice of it all.
Those
were genuine and justified feelings and I wasn't going to be
religiously manipulated into denying the facts of the situation - it was
not right that he did what he did and I was right to feel angry and
rejected. But those facts had nothing to do with my decision to forgive
him. The forgiveness was instant, the feelings I had to work through
because my hurt and the injustice was legitimate and real, took 10
years.
Every
time one of my siblings would bring up 'the divorce' it would stir
strong emotions of hatred, anger, rejection and more, all over again.
But I had to mentally and with determination, counter every thought of
anger and hatred towards dad with "I forgave him years ago so feelings
settle down because he is already forgiven." I did that over and over
and over again through 10 years.
It
wasn't until I was 26, looking at my wife and sons and wondering how in
the world my dad could walk out on us when I was young, causing a huge
void in my life making my teen years incomplete, that I realized the
final piece of injustice I had to resign myself to was that I didn't
have teenage years with my dad. Once I settled it that I would never get
my teen years back, somehow becoming okay with that though unjust, as I
was then in my 20's and there was no turning back the hands of time,
the final feeling of rest and peace lined up with my decision 10 years
earlier to forgive. Now I had the memories but no longer any hurt attached to each memory. He had been forgiven 10 years earlier, but now my feelings lined up with the decision.
There
is no other way to grow in Christ than to do the dirty work of
countering each thought of man/Satan with the thoughts based on
revelation from the Father. It is a process, but the end result is a
transformed mind and life. You can do it.
New subject next week, blessings!
John Fenn
www.cwowi.org and email me at cwowi@aol.com
New CD/MP3 Series
(2 cd/MP3, $12/set or MP3 $10)
In
part 2 we will look at a couple of types in the Old Testament of God’s
overall plan, and then share about Yom Kippur which will be literally
fulfilled at the return of Christ, and the Feast of Tabernacles, which
will be celebrated annually during Jesus’ 1,000 year reign from
Jerusalem. The 6 days of creation are a type of the rule of man, the day
of rest is a type of rest for the planet – which will be when Jesus
rules. But not all nations will like Him as King…this series lays out
the Days of Awe, between Rosh haShanah and Yom Kippur, what is happening
on earth when the body of Christ is in heaven, and the conditions of
the millennial age!
--From Bob: Hello John, I just want to say wow. The 7000 year plan of God is so well done--
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar