Lesson 4 - Taking Charge of Your Mind
(Conquering impure thoughts)
Impure habits are a by-product of impure thoughts. "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." The battle must be fought and won in the mind. That is where victory is ultimately found. Here are some steps to winning that war: 1. Expect to win. Most people expect to lose the war against evil thoughts. They hope they can control or curb them, but few really expect to be rid of them. This mindset gives Satan a foothold and the individual an easy out. It sets the mood for defeat. Resisting impurity involves a total commitment of our whole being in the knowledge that our victory has already been won by Christ on the cross. Daniel "...purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself..." Dan. 1:8 He had a firm determination, not just a mild desire. When we purpose to win this was, God will turn every defeat into a revelation of hidden reasons in our heart as to why we fail. He has promised, "But if from thence thou shalt seek the LOrd thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul." Deu 4:29 We may lose some battles along the way, but we can still win the war. The loses should only increase our determination to win. 2. Replace the pictures in your mind. At the heart of impure thoughts are secret pictures in the back of our minds. In times of temptation, we are able to revive these pictures and focus on them (usually with little effort). Fighting to remove them usually doesn't work, but we can superimpose God's pictures over them much more effectively. 1 Cor 10:13; 2 Cor 10:5 First, we should visualize Jesus bruised for our iniquities. Second, we should see our iniquities nailed to the cross with him, and that he died to set us free from inpurity. Col 2:14 Next, we should picture the tragic consequences of sin seen in the lives of biblical characters such as Samson and David, and the lives of contemporary figures. 3. Make a covenant with your eyes. Job 31:1 The key to controlling our minds is to control our eyes. "The light of the body is the eye...if thine eye be evil, thy whoe body shall be full of darkness..." Mt 6:22-23 "Let thine eyes look right on..." Pr 4:25 If our eyes are under God's control, we must train them to see what he sees. He looks at us not for what we are but for what we can be through Him. If we are to think God's thoughts, we have to see what he sees and desire to accomplish what He wants in our lives and the lives of others. When we see a person as having been made by God, loved by God, redeemed by Christ, and made godly through our prayers, we are forced to the Scriptural realization that whatever we do to that person is being done to Christ. Mt 25:40 "As you did it..." 4. Give the HS his most effective weapon Our battle is more than mental or physical, it is spiritual. (Eph 6:12) God knows that our natural inclinations easily betray us and lead us into sin. Satan offers us the glamoorous temporal pleasures of the world - immediate gratification. God doesn't want us just to conquer Satan; He wants us to use the battle as a daily motivation to transform our minds to His way of thinking. To do that, we must give the HS the ammunition he needs to accomplish that goal - The Word of God, the "sword of the Spirit". Not only is it important to resist temptation, it is important to prepare ourselves for the next temptation. 5. Remove hidden provisions for defeat. Ro 13:14 "...make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof." Any provision for the flesh not only proves we expect to fail, ti actually invites us to give in to temptation. It provides tempting possibilities for our minds, stirs up our emotions, and then conquers our wills. Impure stimulants, i.e. books and mags, music, certain friendships and activities, etc. must be removed. This will prove our sincerity to resist the devil so he will flee from us. 6. Fight to the finish. Joash should have pounded the arrows to pieces - see 2 Kings 13:14-19. We need to be more determined than we think. Mt 26:40 "Could you not watch with me one hour?..." David wasn't satisfied with knocking Goliath down, he took off his head. 7. Learn to live in the fear of the Lord. A sincere Christian cannot enjoy impure thoughts unless he temporarily blots the presence of God out of his consciousness. If we knew that God was evaluating every one of our thoughts, we would quickly reject those which were impure. "By the fear of the Lord men depart from evil..." Pr 16:6 Fear of the Lord is moment by moment aware that God is watching and weighing every thought, word, action and attitude. Pr 15:3; Pr 5:21; Ps 139:2, 4 8. Curb your curiosity. Undisciplined curiosity is one of Satan's most powerful means of defeating us in our thought lives. God would have us to be "...wise unto that which is good, and simple concerning evil. (Ro 16:19) In the Garden of Eden, Satan used mans natural curiosity to defeat him. "Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." 9. Use every encounter as a learning experience - a springboard to spiritual insight. Temptations are often based on legitimate human needs. Statn prompts us to fulfill our needs in his way; but God calls us to give him our needs and trust Him to fulfill them in his time and in his way. Therefore, we should turn each temptation into a signal to ask the Lord for the scripture and insights that would have us use in response. Some of our greatest learning experiences will come in this way. Pre-requisites for Victory Humility - To admit our shortcomings, our need, our weakness, and to prepare to receive help from God and others. We must strip ourselves of pride. You simply cannot do it in your own strength. Revelation - Let God open your eyes rather than you figuring it out. To often we see it or figure it wrong. We must look to God. Only his revelation can free us. Identification - Identify experientially with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. These are not just symbolic; we experience them in our spirits It is our only hope for victory. Cleansing - We must rid ourselves of the sources of temptation. Put out of your life those things which cause you to fall. (I remember my former alcoholic friend who worked in the brewery.) Accoutability - Our shame makes us keep our sins or weaknesses a secret, but that keeps us dealing with it alone. We need to be accoutable to someone who can help us without judging us. Someonw besides just ourselves to monitor our behavior. Be careful who you confess your faults to. Be selective. It should be someone spiritually mature, trustworthy, and confidential. Gratefulness - Ro 1:21,25 Many sins and problems are related to ungratefulness - a failure to acknowledge God properly.
Student Questions
Memorize: Proverbs 23:7; Romans 6:14; Ephesians 6:12; Proverbs 16:6 How to Discipline Your Thought Life 1. How important is your thought life? (Proverbs 23:7) 2. How important is a positive attitude? (Daniel 1:8) 3. How important is your imagination? (2Corinthians 10:5) 4. Do you think we should be careful what we see and dwell on? (John 31:1) 5. Is scripture memorization important? How about Bible study? (Ephesians 6:17) 6. How might a person make provision for the flesh? How would doing so affect us? (Romans 13:14) 7. When is our battle with Satan over? 8. What does it mean to fear the Lord? (Job 28:28; Proverbs 1:7; 8:13; 9:10; 14:27; 15:33; 16:6; 23:17) 9. An old saying goes, "curiosity killed the cat". Do you think curiosity can be dangerous? In what ways? 10. How important is it to learn from mistakes?
Study Guide For "What The Bible Is All About"
by Henrietta Mears
Chapter 4 Understanding Leviticus
1. Leviticus is called __________________________ and _________________. 2. What is God’s desire for us? (Leviticus 11:44-45) __________________ 3. Where is this verse quoted in the New Testament? ___________________ 4. The way to God is by _________ and the walk with God is by _________. 5. The sacrifices in Levitcus are only types, or symbols. What is their purpose? _______________________________________________________________________ 6. There can be no fellowship between God and man until what?_________ 7. List the five offerings and the purpose of each. _______________ - _______________________________________________________ _______________ - _______________________________________________________ _______________ - _______________________________________________________ _______________ - _______________________________________________________ _______________ - _______________________________________________________ 8. Who were chosen to be the priests and the keepers of the Tabernacle? ________________________________________________________________________ 9. What was the duty of the priests? __________________________________ 10. What kind of life should follow the forgiveness of sins? __________ 11. Why are animal sacrifices no longer necessary? ____________________ 12. Jesus is our _____ _______, and in that we see ____________________. 13. List the eight feasts and what each represents. _______________ - _______________________________________________________ _______________ - _______________________________________________________ _______________ - _______________________________________________________ _______________ - _______________________________________________________ _______________ - _______________________________________________________ _______________ - _______________________________________________________ _______________ - _______________________________________________________ _______________ - _______________________________________________________