Discussion 5Battlefield of the MindWe can renew our minds and become a new person by allowing the Holy Spirit to control our lives and by believing (considering) God’s truth. Just as a butterfly is a new creation from a caterpillar, we ARE a new creation in Jesus. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). 1. What does it mean to be a new creation? ____________________________________________________________________________________ "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” (John 5:5-8). a. How do we bear fruit? ________________________________________________ 2. We have an enemy. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12). From Ephesians 6:12 we see that we are in a war. A careful study of this verse informs us that our warfare is not with other human beings but with the devil and his demons. Our enemy, Satan, attempts to defeat us with strategy and deceit, through well-laid plans and deliberate deception. The devil is a liar. Jesus called him …the father of lies and of all that is false (John 8:44). He lies to you and me. He tells us things about ourselves, about other people and about circumstances that are just not true. He does not, however, tell us the entire lie all at one time. He begins by bombarding our mind with a cleverly devised pattern of little nagging thoughts, suspicions, doubts, fears, wonderings, reasonings and theories. He moves slowly and cautiously (after all, well-laid plans take time). Remember, he has a strategy for his warfare. He has studied us for a long time. He knows what we like and what we don’t like. He knows our insecurities, our weaknesses and our fears. He knows what bothers us most. He is willing to invest any amount of time it takes to defeat us. One of the devil’s strong points is patience. (Excerpt from Battlefield of the Mind, Joyce Meyer) 3. Footholds a) Foothold of Unforgiveness/Bitterness “If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven—if there was anything to forgive—I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.” (2 Corinthians 2:10-11). i. How does the enemy “trick us” into unforgiveness and eventually bitterness? (Share examples.) _______________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ii. What are the negative effects on our lives? ____________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ iii. How can giving a foothold to the enemy lead to the enemy gaining access to our lives? ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ iv. Discuss the progression from the time we are wronged until the point at which bitterness “takes over” in us. ________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 4. Foothold of Anxiety “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” (1 Peter 5:6-9). · Step 1 – Humble yourself so that He may lift you up. · Step 2 – Cast your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. · Step 3 – Be self-controlled and alert. · Step 4 – Resist the enemy and his tactics. a) How should you deal with a “roaring lion?” ____________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ b) What are the effects in our lives if anxiety is not dealt with? (Trace the progression.)__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 5. Foothold of Accusations “Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: ‘Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.” (Revelation 12:10). What kinds of accusations does Satan throw at us? Show how accusations usually include “part-truths.” __________________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ a) How can we tell God’s voice from Satan’s? _____________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ b) How do we need to respond to his accusations? _________________________________________ c) What “facts” can be used to “short circuit” his accusations? _______________________________ _________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Foothold of Fear “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18). a) What is perfect (unconditional) love? ______________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7). a) Analogy of a barking dog or roaring lion. i. What does the animal want us to do? _________________________________________ ii. If we run, they attack, but if we hold our ground (because of our confidence in our relationship with God), he will flee. 7. Our manner of warfare “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.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5). a) Why are our thoughts important? _________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ b) How will we know the difference between what is in our mind and what is the mind of God? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ c) What are “strongholds” and how does Satan attempt to set them up in our mind? ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ d) Give an example of a stronghold in your life _________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ e) How might this have come about? _________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ If we use the wrong weapons (the weapons of this world), it leads to the footholds above because those are the weapons that the enemy uses. Using our weapons renders him powerless, because he understands how to fight against the weapons of the world. Strongholds are based on arguments and pretentions (basically in our mind) – take THEM captive and we will be free! 8. Our Weapons “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” (Ephesians 6:10-10) a) Who is our enemy? ____________________________________________________________ b) Describe the following pieces of armor, how do you use them? i. Belt of Truth ____________________________________________________________ ii. Breastplate of Righteousness ______________________________________________ iii. Shoes of Readiness _______________________________________________________ iv. Shield of Faith ___________________________________________________________ v. Helmet of Salvation _______________________________________________________ vi. Sword of the Spirit ________________________________________________________ c) What other weapons are mentioned in this passage? _________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ Summary: We are guaranteed victory. Satan is already defeated. Jesus is the final authority. We can live victoriously when we choose to listen to the Holy Spirit and what He says about us. Suggestions for Further Growth Additional verses on Spiritual Battle - Romans 8:15, James 4:4, 2 Timothy 1:7, Colossians 2:15, Luke 7:6-9. Key Question: How can you continue to be victorious? Next week we will discuss how being connected to the church body can keep your faith strong. |